Metal Mastermind, Starring Silver the Hedgehog
by Turrican23X
Summary: It's up to Silver to save the world from Metal Sonic's attempt to assimilate every shred of high technology until he's practically a colossal robot god. Lots of action! Some slapstick. Mainly action! Costarring Blaze the Cat and Shadow the Hedgehog.
1. Events of Yesterday

**Chapter 1: Events of Yesterday**

Over two hundred years had passed since Sonic the Hedgehog and his friends finally put an end to the villainous Dr Eggman's ambitions of global conquest. Although living to a great age, Dr Ivo "Eggman" Robotnik never produced another hostile robot after the day of his true defeat. Apart from the occasional alien invasion or malevolent ancient deity (both promptly dealt with by the furry heroes of the Earth), the years beyond saw peace and prosperity. By the time Silver the Hedgehog was born, human and animaloid culture had advanced to a point where space exploration and colonisation of the other planets of the solar system was a fact. The now seemingly ancient space station called Ark was joined in orbit by dozens more featuring advanced technology that even the prodigy Gerald Robotnik could not have imagined. It was a bright new age.

A few relics of two centuries past still existed and were recognised. Shadow the Hedgehog, the ultimate life-form who would never experience naturally the cellular degeneration commonly referred to as "old age", lived on. He had become a reclusive in recent years, remaining hidden away from civilisation onboard the long-abandoned space station that his adoptive father created. Another relic was the seemingly reincarnated criminal mastermind Dr Eggman, who insisted on the nickname "Nega" to distance himself from his failure of an ancestor. It was an oddity that the Robotnik family had produced to so many benevolent contributors to society since Ivo Robotnik, only eventually produce a great-great-great-grandchild who could've passed as Ivo's twin in both appearance and nature. Although is ambitions were ever as great as his ancestor, Nega never achieved the infamy in the modern age as his predecesor, mainly due to Nega's technology being hardly more sophisticated than that employed by the Guardian Units of Earth (GUE). It wasn't until Nega perfected his time-travel technology that he became a real threat...

But as had been the case two hundred years ago, there were heroes both willing and capable to defend the world from evil. Most prominent were Silver the Hedgehog and Blaze the Cat. Already the two had thwarted several of Eggman Nega's attempts to conquer the planet in the past. Currently Nega was keeping a low profile, since his latest time machine had been captured intact by GUE agents. Unlike Sonic, Silver and Blaze did not spend their time between missions just playing around, but rather kept themselves focused on their duty by training. Neither one had much of a social life, which was fine for the shy Blaze and insecure Silver. In combat they were formidable, but socially they were pretty much klutzes.

-

Location: A ruin situated at the bottom of Rail Canyon - Former United Federation Continent.

Blaze stood on top of the rocks with her arms crossed over her chest, watching as Silver lifted yet another giant boulder out of the way with his psycho-kinesis.

"You be careful," Blaze warned, not for the first time. "You remember what happened when we excavated the Lava Shelter base."

"I remember, I remember," Silver answered with noticable annoyance. "Eggman's magma vents were still functioning. I should have checked properly before using my power on the control device."

He respected Blaze's superior experience and judgement, but sometimes he really wished she'd ease up a little.

"That's right. Our job here is to make sure the area is safe for the archeologists, so we have to keep watch for traps and dangers at all times."

"I know, I know."

Finally the way inside the complex was clear. Silver didn't object when Blaze went in first. She could conjure a flame in her hand to light their way ahead. It didn't take long for them to realise that there wasn't going to be much machinery in here still functional at all. From the looks of things, this building had originally been built on top of one of the canyon's many mesas. With the amount of dust and rust, it had to have been at least a decade since it fell into the ravine. Of course, even though Eggman's security measures would be ruined, there was still a strong likelihood of cave-ins, leaked hazardous chemicals, or unexploded shells. The two of them had to make a proper survey of the cavernous location before they could report back to the people at the research base.

"Look at these conveyor belts," said Silver. "This must have been one of Eggman's production plants. I wonder what he was making here."

"What else? Robots." Blaze responded.

"I meant what kind of robots."

"Does it really matter?"

Silver shrugged. "I guess not," he said.

Blaze moved her handheld flame around the wreckage, keeping it just close enough to see clearly, but not so close that she inadvertently ignite anything. The cat let out a gasp as the light fell on a familiar sight. She couldn't prevent herself from shivering at the sight of it, before she realised what she was really looking at.

"What is that?" Silver asked, walking closer. Then he jumped, too.

"Calm down," said Blaze, trying to pretend that she hadn't been just as frightened. "It's just a fake."

"But it looks just like him! I mean, not that I've ever seen him in person, but the pictures in the history books and-"

"And if you'd paid a little more attention in history class, you'd remember that Eggman once tried to produce an army of androids based on him. This must be one of them. You know, this is quite a find."

"I guess so, but can we please head back now?" Silver pleaded.

"Not until we're done!"

Silver cast one more sideways glance at the decapitated Shadow android. In the orange light of Blaze's flame, it was all too easy to imagine that the wires sticking out of its neck were arteries and veins. The hedgehog shuddered.

To Silver's relief, Blaze decreed that their work was done shortly afterwards. The rest of the base's interior was blocked off by large boulders and broken wall plating. Because trying to remove the blockage might cause a cave-in, the two were meant to leave such conditions alone. It would be a terrible tragedy to lose an important historical find like this to a thousand of rock. Because they never went further, Blaze and Silver never found that an even greater discovery lay dormant just beyond the barrier. However, it would soon be found, and then the rise of the greatest threat the world of the future had ever seen would begin.

_In the next chapter:_

_- An old enemy awakens_

_- Some people are killed_

_- Blaze eats raw chilli peppers_


	2. Reboot

**Chapter 2: Reboot**

"Dave! Hey, Dave, get over here!" 

Dave Derring, the appointed leader of the archeological excavation of the Rail Canyon site, headed over to where his assisant and half-brother was crouched over something. 

"What is it, Bob? Another android?" Dave asked. 

"Not too far off. Look at this." 

Dave adjusted his glasses. He blinked, took his glasses off, put them back on, and then slowly turned his head towards his grinning assistant. Then they both started shouting and laughing almost hysterically. This was the find of the century. They were both going to become very rich men, and they both knew it. This was it: the Masterpiece, the one creation that the long-passed Dr Eggman was never able to top in his lifetime. Sure, the paint was stripped off, half its limbs were smashed, and the engine torso was a wreck, but as long as that huge head filled to the brim with amazing AI hardware was fully intact, this artifact was the ultimate treasure of modern archeology. 

Once he'd calmed down, Dave Derring immediatelly got to work. "Bob, go back to the camp and tell everyone they're back on duty right now. I want cameras, trace samples, the works. We've got a lot of documentation to do here, and no time to waste. Go!" 

That event took place only two days after Silver and Blaze made their initial discoveries. Now it was two weeks later. Silver would probably have forgotten about the ruin by now, if it weren't for the image of the decapitated Shadow android, which still had him waking up in a cold sweat at night. 

It was Saturday night, there was no outside work available, so naturally Silver was at home in his Central City apartment, watching TV. Blaze was there, too, sitting on the opposite end of the couch, munching chili peppers out of a big bowl like they were peanuts. She'd never felt the need for a permanent residence, so she usually crashed at Silver's place whenever she was in town. 

"Tonight," the television announcer announced, "live from CC University, you'll get to watch the event of the century. In a few minutes the infamous hermit Shadow the Hedgehog will no longer be the only living witness around to refuse an interview-" 

The announcer, a really annoying newscaster who spent way too much time in front of the camera, had an amazing sense of humour. Just the fact that he got both Silver and Blaze to roll their eyes in perfect synchronisation said enough about it. 

"The greatest scientists of Earth have been working 'round the clock to restore this astounding relic to functional capacity. And tonight, for the first time in two hundred years, before your very eyes, it will be reactivated. Rest assured, though, folks, even though we're dealing with a monster the likes of which few have ever seen, it will be fully restrained and unable to do any harm to yours truly until it's deactivated again at the end of our show, in about an hour."

Loathe as he was to let anything other than himself fill the spotlight, the announcer waited until his speech was done before letting the cameras shift their focus to the thing positioned at the center of the stage. 

Silver gasped. "Metal Sonic!" he shouted, standing up in the couch. 

"That's right," the announcer went on. "The greatest robot villain in all of recorded history! Metaaaaaaal Sooooooonic!!" 

"That idiot!" Silver shouted over the roar of applause from the audience in the television studio. "We've got to get over there and stop them right away!" 

Blaze had enough respect for her friend's judgement that she didn't argue, but ran out along with him. She hadn't been present when Silver chased Eggman Nega back in time and encountered the evil blue robot, so she accepted that he probably knew of Metal Sonic's capabilities better than she did. Still, Blaze doubted just how dangerous a two centuries-old robot could possibly be. 

- 

Total blackness. Darkness within darkness. Then, suddenly, lines of bright green text spanning across a black screen. 

_System online..._

Long lines of technical gibberish, barely comprehensible even to a computer wiz. Dr Eggman, seeing the faults and limitations of the available coding languages, had rejected all of them and written his own from scratch. His was more versatile and offered greater potential by far, but only he or someone with an IQ approaching his formidable 300 could possibly understand any of it. 

Finally, the last lines of text were plain English: 

_Review objectives:  
1) Defeat Sonic the Hedgehog (Primary).  
2) Serve and protect Dr Eggman (Secondary).  
__3) Aid in establishment of Eggman Empire (Tertiary)._

In the television studio where he was held by a metal containment device, locking his limbs in place, Metal Sonic's red irises blinked to life for the first time in two centuries. His first sight was of hundreds of humans and animals sitting in rows of seats in front of him, applauding loudly. He looked to his right and saw a pathetic-looking human watching him with anxiousness but not fear. On the far sides of the stage were humans working devices that resembled recording apparatus. 

"Welcome back, Metal Sonic," said the human on stage. "How does it feel?" 

_ERROR! Memory files conflicting with initial system configuration. Repairing...  
_

_  
Overwritting erroneous data...  
_

_  
Review objectives:  
1) Defeat Sonic the Hedgehog (Primary).  
2) Defeat Dr Eggman (Secondary).  
3) Establish total supremacy (Tertiary)._

"Where is Sonic the Hedgehog?" said Metal Sonic. 

The announcer gave an annoying cluckle. "Well, Metal Sonic," he said in a patronising tone of voice. "You've been asleep for a really long time. I'm afraid Sonic died a long time ago." 

"Incorrect," said Metal Sonic. 

The robot's actions happened so fast that by the time the first audience member had time to scream, Metal's claws were already at the announcer's throat. What had happened, as the slow-motion replays would show in the news broadcast later that same night, was that Metal fired up the jet engine located in his chest, releasing a flame that melted through the restrains holding him. With the metal bonds weakened, it was a simple job for the powerful robot to snap its arms and legs free. 

"Where is Sonic the Hedgehog?" Metal Sonic repeated, increasing the pressure on the human's throat. 

"He's-He's-dead! B-buried! I ca-" 

"Incorrect!" 

Metal Sonic killed him. Just like that. Then he turned his attention to the panicking audience. 

"Where is Sonic the Hedgehog?" 

_In the next chapter:  
- Metal fights our heroes.  
- Blaze is injured.  
- Shadow does absolutely nothing._


	3. Lifeform Data Has Been Copied

**Chapter 3: Lifeform Data Has Been Copied**

The scientists who allowed themselves to be bribed into vouching for the safety and scientific value of letting their rebuilt discovery appear on popular television had not been entirely without caution. They'd insisted that GUE sentry droids be posted on standby in the unlikely event that the legendary robot ran out of control. As he watched his career go down the drain, the producer of Mystery Science Spectacle Weekly really wished he insisted that it would be a waste of time and money to call in government security just for the sake of an obsolete piece of junk.

Those who hadn't fled the studio by now were either dead or unconscious. Metal Sonic had assaulted anyone who caught his attention, repeating the same question over and over. Every time he recieved an answer that failed to satisfy him, he responded with violence.

"Where is Sonic the Hedgehog!?" Metal Sonic shouted in frustration.

Silver kicked the stage door open dramatically, though the coolness of his entrance was effectively ruined when the door rebounded on its hinges and smacked him in his face. Blaze slipped past Silver while he rubbed his bruised nose in embarrasment.

"You don't have to hunt Sonic anymore, Metal Sonic," she shouted. "He died of old age two centuries ago. Your mission is over. You can stop fighting now."

For just a second it seemed as if Metal Sonic was considering her words, then he rushed at her. Blaze was ready, and employed a flaming whirlwind pirouette to dodge and then kick Metal from behind as he charged past. With reflexes built to match the fastest living creature in history, Metal turned his tumble into a summersault, landing on his feet.

Blaze got a head-start, but Silver had no intention of being left out of this fight. Before Metal Sonic had time to attack the feline princess a second time, Silver grabbed the robot with his psycho-kinesis and threw him across the stage, smashing Metal's solid body into the wall.

"You should've learned your lesson the last time," Silver called to the robot, making a reference to their last encounter on Onyx Island.

What Silver didn't realise was that the Metal Sonic before him now was not the replica that Eggman Nega built during his last visit to the past. This was the true original. Nega had been wise not to employ the services of the robot who once nearly suceeded in conquering the entire world by using the data of its enemies and the power of the water-elemental god Chaos to evolve into a mechanical monstrosity that only the combined power of Super Sonic, Tails and Knuckles could hope to defeat. Nega's version had only employed limit data-replication abilities. It had been nothing compared to the potential of the original; the real Metal Sonic, the one scanning Silver the Hedgehog and Blaze the Cat's bodies right at that second.

"Lifeform data...has been copied," said Metal Sonic in a monotonous voice as his eyes flashed red.

Ignoring Metal Sonic's mutterings, Silver picked up the large heavy pile of twisted metal that was all that remained of the restraints intended to prevent the robot from being able to do any harm. Using his power, he flung the heavy object right at Metal Sonic. Silver's eyes widened when the projectile stopped dead a few feet from its target and floated harmlessly in the air. The green halo surrounding the twisted metal was the tell-tale sign of psycho-kinetic energy at work. Metal Sonic walked forward, balacing the weight on empty air. Then he tossed it aside and rushed at Silver in the same way he'd done with Blaze only moments earlier. This time, however, fire erupted around Metal's body, turning him into a deadly fireball. Silver didn't have a chance of evading the attack, so instead he put his arms forward and concentrated all of his energy towards stopping Metal's momentum. It worked, Metal Sonic slowed down, but the fire engulfing his body only continued to grow.

Over the years since he learned to control the powers he'd been born with, Silver had many times carried objects that were over a hundred times his own weight. Right now it felt like he was trying to push a mountain up a steep hill. Metal was pushing back hard, and even though Silver was able to hold the robot at bay for the moment, he wouldn't be able to keep it up for long, and unlike the white hedgehog, Metal Sonic would never get tired. Worse, as Metal pushed, he stored up inertia. The instant Silver let go, Metal would need less than a fraction of a second to cross the tiny space between them. Thus, even though Blaze was running at her top speed when she dived into Silver, using her weight and speed to push them both out of the way, there wasn't enough time for them both to avoid getting hit by the Metal Fireball.

The last few second had gone by like minutes, but now real time flowed back. Metal Sonic crashed through the wall behind where Silver had been standing. Judging by the amount of noise and vibrations, he was having trouble slowing down from that meteoric charge. Blaze screamed out in pain, while Silver felt his whole body turn ice cold at the sight of what was left of his best friend's right leg. It had been torn off above the knee cap, and way too much blood was pouring out way too fast. Silver started to panic.

"Buh-Blaze! Wha-what-whadoIdo!?" he shouted, breathing so fast he had to be on the verge of hyperventilating.

Even in a situation like this it was Blaze who took charge and kept her cool in the face of danger. At least, she kept as cool as anyone could be expected to be in such a situation. Between screams of sheer agony, she managed to do what she knew had to be done. Doing it quickly before the knowledge of how much it was going to hurt had a chance to slow her down, Blaze leaned forward and put both hands, both hands carrying white-hot flames, right on top of the wound on her stump of a leg. Silver nearly fainted as she screamed again, louder than ever. Then the cat passed out, smoke rising from both her hands and her leg. Trembling, Silver knelt down beside her, and looked. The bleeding had stopped completely. By burning herself willingly, Blaze had fused the wound shut.

Silver had never felt so useless. He didn't dare leave his friend, in case Metal Sonic came back, so he stayed put until GUE troops stormed the building five minutes later. After Blaze had been carried onboard an ambulance, and Silver got confirmation that she was going to be alright, the hedgehog went back into the studio along with GUE soldiers and droids. They went through the large hole left behind by Metal's explosive departure, only to find that it led all the way outside into empty air. Silver looked through the broken window at the end, saw the fifty-storey drop below, and jumped. Using his psycho-kinesis to fly through the air, Silver travelled from rooftop to rooftop across the night-lit city, not caring if the government troops had a chance to follow him.

Metal Sonic was loose somewhere in the city. Silver swore that no matter what it took, he was going to make sure the robot never got a chance to hurt anyone else ever again. When he was done with Metal there wouldn't be enough left to salvage...

_In the next chapter:_

_- Metal Sonic meets the world of the future._

_- Shadow the Hedgehog finally appears._

_- Blaze gets her "Not-gonna-die" card validated by the author._


	4. The Hidden Power

**Chapter 4: The Hidden Power**

The view from the Ark had changed greatly over the years. When he was awakened from his 50 year slumber, Shadow had been able to look down at the Earth from within the only celestial object circling the planet. Today, he could barely get a glimpse of the full Earth with the literally hundreds of thousands of space stations, exploration crafts, satellites and miscellaneous objects that littered space. Ever since the humans finished that damn space elevator, the construction of spacecraft had become an inexpensive routine operation. 

There was more than one reason for Shadow's self-imposed exile. The reason he publicly revealed was that he had become tired of watching friends grow old and die around him. That was certainly true, but the main reason was one that Shadow had kept a guarded secret. If anyone knew the truth, then that would open a gateway to yet another catastrophe. 

It would be hard to tell for a visitor that anyone actually lived inside the Ark. Dust was everywhere, though not as much as you'd expect in a terrestrial building, since the original creator of the Ark had taken special precautions to keep the contained atmosphere as clean as possible for the sake of his sick granddaughter. There were even cobwebs. Shadow had been curius about that himself, and had taken a few days to discover that the insects stored in Gerald's old research labs had been accidentally reanimated when Shadow purged the computer system of any trace of the malevolent program installed by Gerald during the height of his insanity prior to his death. The spiders had escaped into the food storage compartments, and bred succesfully. Shadow had found the insect nests, but had chosen to leave them alone. It made him feel slightly better to know that even after all this time, something still called the Ark its home. 

The heart of the Ark, known as the Cannon's Core, was different, though. No one could've mistaken that for abandoned territory. It was not only clean, but the deteriorating maintenance machinery of the station was kept in top-notch condition. The visitor to the Ark wouldn't have been able to go any further, though, because maintenance wasn't the only robotics on full alert within the Core. Shadow had restored all of the Artificial Chaos robots that he had been able to recover since most of them were destroyed 200 years ago during Eggman's attempted takeover of the Ark and the Black Arms invasion of Earth. No half-measures would suffice when it came to keeping what was located within the Cannon's Core secure. 

The altar at the innermost sanctuary of the Ark was a true likeness of the Emerald Altar on Angel Island, as it had looked during the height of Echidna civilisation, thousands of years ago. The pillars designed to hold Chaos Emeralds were not empty. What Shadow had hidden onboard the Ark was the means to either destroying the entire world, or saving it from destruction. The black hedgehog had lost count of how many times the seven Chaos Emeralds had fallen into wrong hands and nearly doomed everyone. He was determined that as long as he lived, he would not allow the vessels of Ultimate Power to be used for evil again. Since he was immortal, it was going to be a very long vigil. 

Shadow had made some necessary changes to the altar built by professor Gerald. Each of the pillars was now outfitted with a high-tech containment unit designed to prevent the energy of the individual Emeralds from interacting with each other. Every time the full power of the seven Emeralds was drawn out, the Emeralds themselves reformed in random locations throughout the world. As long as their power was kept in check, they would stay put here, safe. 

Although he had decided that the seven Chaos Emeralds were his responsibility to guard, Shadow had accepted that the Master Emerald belonged to a different group. Knuckles's great-great-great-great-grandchildren were more than capable of taking down anyone who dared trespass on Angel Island. Heh, even today Shadow still smirked at the memory of how that reckless red echidna had lucked out so incredibly in the field of romance. Actually, even though he'd never admit it, Shadow sometimes wondered what might've happened if he hadn't rejected Rouge's advances. 

Walking slowly through the cavernous hall of the Core, Shadow approached the altar. He still admired the architecture of the chamber. Gerald had harvested rock from Angel Island and built an exceptional likeness of an Echidna temple. The masonry looked authentic to even an expert eye, though Shadow knew for a fact that inches beneath the old rock lay thick titanium metal walls. The Ark had taken quite a few tumbles over the years, as various evil factions fought for control over the doomsday weapon contained within the space station, yet not a single crack had appeared in the rocks. Amazing. 

The machinery that fed energy from the Cannon's Core to the Eclipse Cannon was destroyed. Shadow had done the job himself, and he was glad that vile laser cannon had been scrapped. It had served its purpose, and would no longer exist as a temptation for villains desiring world conquest. 

The leader of the Artificial Chaos robots saluted stiffly as it saw Shadow come near. 

"Report, Omega," Shadow the Hedgehog said to the E-series robot that was nearly as old as himself. 

"All systems functioning optimally. No sign of intruders," E-123 Omega responded. 

"Good." 

"Are you alright? I was not expecting you to check up on us for another three days." 

Shadow smiled. He'd instructed Omega to be suspicious when he gave him the assignment of guarding the Chaos Emeralds. They couldn't run the risk of shapeshifters or imitation androids, so Shadow didn't object to Omega activating his scanners to check that Shadow's unique molecular structure matched expectations. 

"I have a bad feeling," said the black hedgehog. 

Omega nodded. The intuition of the Ultimate Life-Form carried a lot of weight. 

- 

Meanwhile, down on Earth, Blaze was rushed into a treatment room at the nearest hospital. A nurse immediatelly extracted a tissue sample from the unconscious cat and hurried it over to the restoration clinic. 

"Here," the nurse said, handing the sample over to the on-duty man. "Female feline animaloid, late teens, severed right leg. The reference feed is being sent to holo-projector four. Need a full-regrowth." 

"Got it!" 

Medical science had come a long way. A doctor of the present age would respond with disgust at the idea of simply sewing a detached limb back on. Growing a brand new limb based on the DNA of the patient, accellerating its growth to match the patient's age, and training the muscle tissue to fit a leg that'd been used effectively for years, was a much faster and more efficient method. Of course, doctors of any age will always look down at the methods of their predecessors... 

In a day or so, Blaze would have nothing but the memory of her injury. 

- 

Metal Sonic landed on the rooftop of a high-rise apartment building. All around him were high-tech units built in to allow the tenants to recieve any amount of data transmitted from the satellites above. 

He knew that if he was going to be able to finish off Sonic this time, he'd need power to match those accursed Chaos Emeralds. First thing came first. 

Using Silver's psycho-kinetic powers, Metal demolished the satellite dishes, harvesting every ounce of advanced technology contained within. The less useful outer metal layers were coated with colour and bent into more useful shapes. As he assimilated the available material, Metal Sonic's body changed. Soon, standing ominously against the dark sky, was Neo Metal Sonic, reformed from the shape of a soldier into the shape of a ruler. All that was missing was a cape...

_In the next chapter:  
- Silver's search proves fruitless.  
- Metal Sonic starts to get a clue.  
- Oh, and Metal also gets that nifty cape he wants._


	5. Legacy of the Hero

**Chapter 5: Legacy of the Hero**

As the sun rose over the horizon, Silver sat on the edge of a rooftop, looking out over the city. He'd been running on a wild goose chase all night long, and was exhausted. Flying for such long periods and in such quick succession took a serious toll on his stamina. He hadn't dared slow down even once for fear that Metal Sonic would get a away. Now it didn't seem to matter. How did you find an unregistered, untracable, super-fast robot in a city of millions? 

Every robot, replica, android and just about anything animate with more metal in it than a meat loaf had been outfitted with tracking functionality at their respective production plant. It was the law, and since the robot riots of 2140, 2164, and 2181 the punishment for ignoring the laws of robotics had become so steep that no one who valued their business would dare let a bot pass inspection without it. It was rumoured that even the outlaw Eggman Nega took special precautions with his robot minions. In Nega's case, it was probably due to his ancestor's bad habit of creating robots that ended up betraying him. The point was that since the scientists who repaired Metal Sonic had adamantly refused to install any new technology, for fear of invalidating the historical artifact, the GUE forces were rendered useless unless the robot did something to make his presence apparent. 

A GUE soldier caught up with Silver just before dawn, and told him that they hadn't had any better luck than the hedgehog. The strict public protection laws prevented them from taking greater measures in hunting down the robot. Even if they had the right, what could they do? Raid every building in the hopes of randomly spotting Metal Sonic? 

Silver understood the problem, but he was still bitter about it. He'd hoped that Metal would continue rampaging like he'd done in the studio, attracting the attention of every law enforcement unit in the city, but the rogue robot had taken the intelligent approach instead, and was lying low. 

It couldn't last... Sooner or later, Metal Sonic would do something to reveal himself. And then- Silver stood up on the ledge, clenching his fist while wearing an expression of grave determination. And then, Silver would finish him off himself. 

- 

The heavy tarp wrapped around his body wasn't quite what Metal Sonic had in mind when it came to rearranging his exterior to match his proper stature, but for the sake of staying inconspicuous in broad daylight, it did the trick. 

Not all of his functions were back online yet. His circuits for capturing, encoding and employing the valuable data of other life-forms and machinery were functioning at a satisfactory level, but so far he was unable to access his shapeshifting functions. The Chaos data was corrupted beyond restoration, and although an incomplete copy of that data had been enough to shapeshift into a likeness of Dr Eggman once, it wasn't enough now. He'd need an intact sample of that data in order to regain his full potential. 

Chao were the answer. Metal doubted that he'd have the stroke of luck of finding a frog with a pure trace element of Chaos's power a second time, but every chao in existence carried a lingering remnant of the god's influence - it was what gave them the possibility of achieving the ultimate goal of a chao breeder; the Chaos, Angel and Devil chao. As Metal Sonic knew, because he'd spent an inordinate amount of time studying in preparation for the grand scheme that ended up being thwarted by those "Sonic Heroes", the water-elemental deity Chaos had originally been a chao that attempted, somehow, to draw affinity from the seven Chaos Emeralds in the same manner that regular chao drew affinity from animals and people they touched. 

Somewhere in this city, there had to be a Chao Garden. 

One might wonder why Metal Sonic didn't find the advanced society of the twenty-third century Central City suspicious. The fact of the matter was that the robot believed he'd wound up in the oddity of a civilisation known as Future City, which was the place where Sonic and his friends thwarted Metal Sonic's attempt to use the Eggman army to take over the Hexaco power plant, and where later on Sonic had his first encounter with the band of thieves known as the Babylon Rogues. However, the time when Metal Sonic would realise the full truth was rapidly approaching. When he entered the Memorial Chao Garden located in the park at the heart of the city, the truth was embodied in a massive marble statue. 

Metal Sonic stopped dead in front of the memorial. The statue was of Sonic the Hedgehog in one of his trademark victory poses. The plaque on the pedestal beneath read:

**"Sonic the Hedgehog, who saved Earth on twenty-six seperate occasions.**

**Our gratitude will last forever."**

The line underneath described Sonic's date of birth and...date of death. While a hundred variations of the basic chao danced merrily around him, Metal Sonic stared at the plaque for nearly half an hour. The stillness of the robot rivalled the statue before him, but inside Metal Sonic's head there was intense activity taking place. Conflicting code lines threatened to shut down Metal's artificial mind. The mission was completed, and yet, it wasn't. He'd been programmed to defeat Sonic the Hedgehog. HE had been programmed to defeath Sonic the Hedgehog. HE had been programmed to do it. HIM. METAL SONIC! No one else! Sonic the Hedgehog could not be dead by anyone's hand but HIS! HIM! METAL SONIC! HE had to be the one to do it, or his programming could never be completed. 

The conflict reached its climax... 

FATAL ERROR. 

The robot toppled backwards. Its red eyes blinked out. 

"Chao?" said the nearest chao. 

"Chao," its partner agreed. 

"Chao!" another objected. 

"Chao," said the first chao dismissively. 

"C-chao..." 

Metal Sonic's red irises flashed back to life. The error was resolved. Sonic the Hedgehog was dead, here, but elsewhere in the infinite reaches of space and time Sonic was still alive and well. The programming was not impossible to complete, but it would require far greater power than Metal Sonic had ever had any ambition of acquiring in the past. The greatest technology of this future reality would have to be harvested and assimilated into his being. The seven Chaos Emeralds would serve as the power source. If he had to tear open the very fabric of time and space to clear a path to his prey, then Metal Sonic would do so without hesitation. 

The megalomanical robot looked at the memorial again. This time he noted the finely-woven red tapestry draped around the base of the monument. Just what he'd been looking for. Metal threw his disguise off, tore a length of blood-red fabric loose and wrapped it around himself as a magnificent cape. The frayed edges of it only made it all the more intimidating. 

Next, Metal Sonic utterly demolished the statue of his nemesis and positioned himself on its base. A love of striking cool poses was something the robot shared with his flesh-and-blood twin, so here in the moment of clarity, when Metal Sonic's path lay clearly drawn before him, the once and future Overlord made a stance of defiance against the entire universe he'd been thrust into. 

The chao ran for cover while Metal Sonic's malevolent laughter boomed against the confines of the Memorial Garden.

_In the next chapter:  
- Metal Sonic takes on the Guardian Units of Earth.  
- Silver tries to make it to the showdown in time.  
- Blaze challenges the doctor's orders, and loses._


	6. Metallic Madness and Mayhem

**Chapter 6: Metallic Madness and Mayhem**

The Memorial Chao Garden had been built thanks to a grant from Prower Global Enterprises, so naturally the place was outfitted with all manner of top-notch security systems, including a direct link to the regional headquarters of GUE. Only seconds after Metal Sonic destroyed the statue, numerous squads were heading towards the park complex. Although Metal Sonic had more than enough time to make his escape and return to undetectable territory, he had a job before him, and wasn't about to leave until he was good and ready. 

"C-cha-oooo" the chaos cried out in pain as they were gripped far too tightly by Metal's claws. 

Finally, after about twenty minutes of exhaustive data gathering, and the deaths of about a dozen chao, Metal Sonic was able to announce that "Chaos Data...has been copied!" 

The last word was deafened, however, by the sound of an authorative voice calling through a megaphone. 

"Unregistered droid! This is Lieutenant Barker of the Guardian Units of Earth! We have you surrounded! Deactivate your combat functions and come out with your limbs were I can see 'em!" 

A wall of soldiers, combat droids and armoured vehicles surrounded the perimeter of the Garden. Safely behind a pair of hover-tanks, Barker deactivated the megaphone function of his communication button, and patiently counted to thirty under his breath. 

"Doesn't look like it's coming out," said Sergeant Smith, second-in-command of this operation. 

"'fraid so, Jim," Barker responded. 

"You saw what that thing did to those poor people at the studio. I say we send in all three siege droids and level the place, then sort out which bits are bot afterwards." 

Barker responded with a cynical laugh. "Are you out of your mind?" he said. "You know who paid for this place, don't you?" 

"Cripes, you mean-" 

"Yeah! What do you think will happen if Lady Veronica Prower finds out we trashed the place? We'll both get canned, and that's if we're lucky. Trust me, Jim, protecting the public from lunatic droids is one thing, but you do not piss off the fox that's richer and more powerful than God almighty himself." 

"Geeze, ease up on the blasphemy, will ya, Rick?" said Smith, cocking an eye brow. 

"Anyway, from what I hear, the droid ran away after a fight with a couple of animaloids. If it can barely handle civilian furries, then a dozen of our boys should be more than enough to bring it down. Jim, I want you to take the lead on this one. If things get too hot, then try to lure the droid out here, and we'll smash it to bits with the big guns." 

"You can count on me, Rick. But, seriously, you've got to stop with the f-word. You know it's because of slips like that that Captain Vectorson keeps passing you over for promotion." 

That clearly struck a nerve. "That's not how you adress your superior officer," Lieutenant Barker answered gruffly. "Now round up your men and get in there!" 

Without another word, Sergeant Smith signalled to the squad of soldiers to follow him, as he approached the entrance to the Memorial Chao Garden with his weapon at the ready. Thirteen men and women, elleven humans and two echidnas, went inside. There was a tense moment of silence, then the sounds of combat began. Weapons discharging, minor explosions going off, and people screaming - all of it could be heard by the GUE forces standing by outside the enclosure. Soon there were fewer noises, and finally there were none. As a bead of sweat formed on his forehead, the Lieutenant prepared to give the order to storm the Garden, but before he could open his mouth, he saw his longtime friend and fellow soldier stagger out of the door. 

"JIM!" Barker shouted with obvious concern, all grievances forgotten. "What the hell happened in there? Where are the others?" 

"Dead!" The sergeant sounded hoarse. "All of them! But I got it, sir, I trashed that tin can myself. Go inside and see for yourself." 

Barker ran towards the Garden, dreading the sight of all those dead soldiers. But he never got that far. With his hand on the door handle, the lieutenant stood still, staring ahead with an empty expression. A trikle of blood ran from his mouth, then he fell over dead. Behind him, Sergeant Smith wasted no time turning his firearm on his other fellow GUE members. The shocking betrayal came so suddenly that many fell before any of the military agents could think to retaliate. Bullets hit Smith, only to bounce off as if they'd hit metal. When a GUE droid turned its considerably larger weapons against the turncoat, he jumped out of the line of fire with far greater speed than a human should be able to muster. 

By the time Metal Sonic dropped his guise, the mighty attack force sent to apprehend him was crippled. The large combat vehicles that actually posed a threat were too slow to target the supersonic evil twin, and Metal Sonic consciously prioritized their destruction over the lesser threats like the very few remaining flesh-and-blood soldiers. 

When the two surviving soldiers dropped their weapons and ran away, Metal Sonic stopped for a second to to observe the gift-wrapped prizes that had been delivered to him. The siege vehicles and GUE droids, all disabled now, were perfect raw material for the first stage of the transformation that would have to take place for Metal to be able to achieve his ultimate goal. 

The robot got to work. 

- 

"You don't understand! I have to help Silver!" Blaze was yelling from the hospital bed. 

"No, clearly you don't understand, miss Cat," the nurse argued. "Your new leg has to rest at least a full day before you subject it to any kind of stress, otherwise you might suffer permanent nerve damage!" 

The word "permanent" was a left-over term from the old days before it became possible to regrow and replace any part of the body, short of the brain itself. In the sense the nurse was using it, it really just meant "until your next check-up". 

"He can't fight Metal alone! I have to-" 

At that point, the nurse stuck a sedative in Blaze's arm, and she passed out shortly after. Silver wouldn't be recieving backup for at least another couple of hours. 

- 

All there was to find outside the Memorial Chao Garden by the time Silver arrived was a lot of dead bodies, and droids and tanks that'd been stripped of all their interior mass. With a sinking feeling, Silver realised that Metal was trying to upgrade himself, and by the looks of things, he was already going to be a much more formidable opponent by the time Silver managed to catch up with him. 

Trying not to be sick at the sight of so many mutilated bodies, Silver tried to concentrate on what he could remember from History class in school. Metal Sonic had attempted this exact same thing once before, back in Sonic the Hedgehog's time. If only he could remember how they'd defeated Metal back then. 

Rather than spending even more time running only to arrive too late, Silver decided to take the intelligent approach and try to learn more about the nature of the renegade robot. Surely he had to have some weakness or flaw in his programming that could be exploited in order to put a stop to him for good. 

Silver hurried towards the nearest Internet cafe. Those business still made a fair amount of money, thanks to the power of nostalgia. Getting a voice-operated Massively-Multimedia Watch was the modern way of accessing information fast, but Silver had never liked those gadgets much. 

As paramedics arrived on the scene of the slaughter, an observer should let their vantage point pan out until it was looking down at the city from above the clouds. If so, they might catch a glimpse of a massive blue and silver winged shape. The Metal Overlord was back, but this time the villainous machine had no intention of ending its evolution at that point. Just a little more power, and then the greatest treasure trove of all would be within reach: The artificial satellite belt surrounding Earth.

_In the next chapter:  
- Shadow gets a call from an old acquaintance.  
- Metal Sonic fails to appear in a chapter for the first time.  
- Silver inadvertently does an awful lot of foreshadowing._


	7. Exposition and Foreshadowing

**Chapter 7: Exposition and Foreshadowing**

Knuckles the Echidna and Rouge the Bat had one daughter; Silk the Echidna. The couple were satisfied with raising one child. Unfortunately, that presented a huge problem. The echidna species as a whole had since ancient times been entrusted with the responsibility and the power to safeguard the Master Emerald. Due to the potential dillusion of the echidna genes, Silk would present the only member of the last generation of guardians able to wield the full power of the Master Emerald. That meant that after Silk was gone, it would be impossible to use the Master Emerald to stop a villain empowered with the seven Chaos Emeralds. 

Knuckles had been the sole survivor of the echidna species. The birth of his daughter delayed the threat of the line of guardians being ended, but it did nothing to stop it. With that being the case, the chairman of the newly-founded Prower Global Enterprises, Miles "Tails" Prower, made an offer to the world. He would employ his company's semi-illegal cloning technology to produce exactly one hundred echidnas based on the DNA of Silk the Echidna. What followed were months of extensive debates with politicans and outspoken social groups, during which the forty-year-old Miles Prower systematically shot down each of the nay-sayers arguments, and proved his capability for rewriting the genetic code to prevent the new echidnas from suffering the ill effects of inbreeding over the successive generations. 

Five years after the current president of the United Federation gave Prower Global Enterprises legal power to proceed with its plan, one hundred and seventeen albino echidnas were born. A few flukes had resulted in twins, and even one case of triplets being born. Nevertheless, apart from the twins, each child was genetically different enough from the next that it would be as if they came from completely different family trees. A few traits of the original parents, Knuckles and Rouge, did remain in every one of the white-furred echidnas, though. Absolutely all of the females inherited the curves and sex-drive of the albino bat, and absolutely all of the males inherited the exceptional strength and aggressiveness of the red echidna. Needless to say, within just a few generations, the populace of echidnas exploded. 

Not all of the echidnas whose ancestors had been originally cloned for the purpose of becoming Master Emerald guardians stayed true to their predetermined path. Today, there were about five hundred of what might be called pure-blood echidnas living on Angel Island. Thousands more were pursuing different walks of life elsewhere in the world. 

Today, it'd been over 150 years since the last time the Master Emerald was stolen from its altar on Angel Island. Miles "Tails" Prower's plan had worked perfectly, and the echidna species was growing exponentially for the first time in a thousand years. Only the pure-bloods retained the supernatural strength and control over the Master Emerald of their predecessors, however. The two echidnas that Metal Sonic killed inside the Memorial Chao Garden were only slightly more of a challenge than their human allies... 

- 

"Message incoming," said the computerised voice of the Ark's system. 

Shadow the Hedgehog, who'd been brooding in his chair while he stared out at the obstructed view of Earth, sighed. "Deny it," he commanded. 

"Affirmative. New message incoming. Override codes accepted. Opening channel now." 

That could mean only one person. Shadow stood up and walked over to the nearest computer terminal, where a familiar face was displayed onscreen. 

Ironically, Silk the Echidna, the origin of every echidna alive on Earth today, had married into a bat family. Her great-great-great-granddaughter only resembled Rouge the Bat due to her figure. If she were ever inclined to put on heavy make-up, then the resemblance would be a lot stronger - but that kind of look wouldn't be fitting for the current commander of GUE. 

"Hello Connie," said Shadow coldly. 

"I thought you'd be happier to see me," said Conquest the Bat. 

"I'm extatic," Shadow responded in the same frigid tone of voice. "What do you want?" 

"Always straight to be the point with you, isn't it? No time to chat with an old friend you haven't seen in over ten years?" 

"I'm not the social type." 

"That's an understatement, sweetheart. Fine, you're right. This isn't a social call. Have you been watching the news lately?" 

"I only watch the weekly summaries. I don't need to be reminded of how petty and reckless the people are down there every day." 

"Then you don't know. The Sonic imitation robot that was discovered a few weeks ago. It's been repaired and activated, and it's gone berserk." 

Shadow responded with a humourless laugh. Mankind never learned. They only repeated their mistakes with greater inventiveness each time. 

"Tough luck. What's that got to do with me?" 

"First, let me make it clear that this isn't an official call. Everything we say now is completely off the record." Conquest looked tense. 

"Fine..." 

"I think the robot, damn, why bother pretending? I'm sure Metal Sonic is repeating his attempt to take over the world, just like he did when you and Sonic stopped him two hundred years ago! Sonic defeated the Metal Overlord with the Chaos Emeralds, and if we don't capture Metal Sonic soon, then I'm certain that's what it's going to take this time as well, I don't care what that blowhard general says. Now, off the record, Shadow, do you have any idea where the Chaos Emeralds might be? I know I don't have to tell you what might happen if Metal Sonic finds the Emeralds first." 

"The Emeralds are in a safe location," Shadow said simply. 

"Then you know...?" 

"I sent them into a black hole. They'll never be a threat to anyone again." 

"Right, and I'm the queen of Soleanna. You know you could never fool me, Shadow." 

- 

"Metal Sonic's master plan," Silver read aloud from the webpage he'd pulled up on the old-fashioned computer he'd borrowed, "was to collect data from all the individuals that posed a danger to him, and then to combine that data with the synthetically reproduced power of the water-elmental god Chaos. As a means to that end, Metal Sonic imitated the guise of Dr Eggman and assumed command of the Eggman army, then issued an invitation challenging Sonic and his friends to defeat his latest world-conquest weapon. At the same time...blah-blah-blah...Ah! In the end, the Metal Overlord was defeated by Super Sonic, Tails and Knuckles. It is speculated that if the evil robot had not been defeated at that specific point in his transformation, it would've continued to copy data, assimilate technology, and grow more powerful. Historians speculating as to why Metal Sonic did not attempt to retrieve the seven Chaos Emeralds himself as part of his transformation, have theorized that the robot sought to defeat and subsequently copy the data of an active Super transformation, thus boosting its own power beyond..." 

Silver rubbed his eyes. None of this helped at all. The seven Chaos Emeralds had stopped appearing around the world several years before he was born, and no one had any idea where the precious gems were now. Besides, judging by what he could read here, trying to fight Metal Sonic in a super form and then losing would be catastrophic, and probably ruin any hope of ever stopping the fiend. 

There was no hope. Only one power in existence could provide sure-fire way to defeat Metal Sonic, and it was gone for good. Silver would have to challenge the robot on his own terms. He'd probably lose, but that didn't matter. The promise he'd made to himself to make Metal Sonic pay for what he did to Blaze, that was all that mattered now. 

Silver ran. Again.

_In the next chapter:  
- 24 hours pass without incident.  
- Then...  
- All Hell breaks loose._


	8. Nightmare Realised

**Chapter 8: Nightmare realised**

Silver saw himself floating in space. Looming above him, the titanic form of Metal Sonic. Unable to move in the zero-gravity void, Silver could only watch helplessly as the titan reached out and picked the moon from its spot, then lifted it over its head. Numb with fear, Silver heard Blaze's scream accompany the sight of Metal Sonic smashing the moon into the Earth. The planet's crust broke up into pieces, exposing its molten core, which exploded. Lit with a hellish red glow, Metal Sonic now turned towards Silver... 

The white hedgehog awoke with a start. For a moment disorientation took over, and he couldn't figure out if he was still in a dream. Then consciousness flowed back, and he remembered where he was. This was the hospital. Blaze's room. He'd spent the entire night searching the city for any trace of Metal Sonic. He'd even stormed into the GUE base and demanded an intelligence report on the rogue machine, which quickly turned out to be a complete waste of time. The military force had redoubled their efforts to locate Metal Sonic after what he did to their squads. All they had to report back was grim news: Metal Sonic had succesfully assimilated the technology from the GUE tanks and droids, which meant that the robot was now rendered virtually invisible to scans by GUE satellites. He could be anywhere, and they'd never know until after Metal made his move. 

Silver walked over to Blaze's bed, his back feeling sore from the flat chair he'd slept on. He moved the covers aside slightly, then threw them back, revealing the bundle of pillows put there to resemble a sleeping body. What the heck? Silver tried hard to remember if he'd seen Blaze when he staggered into her room at 5 AM. Had he checked on her, or had he just fallen asleep right away? Damn, he couldn't remember. 

"Oh, it's you. What took you so long?" said a familiar voice behind him. 

Silver turned to see Blaze. In a flash, he realised that this was the first time since they'd met as children that he'd ever seen her without long sleeves and pants. He very wisely didn't comment the marks on the cat's arms or stare too long. 

"Sorry about the ruse," said Blaze, looking as dignified as was possible in a hospital gown. "Couldn't risk one of these clowns trying to sedate me again, and I know how easy you are to convince." 

Medical science had reached perfection of cloning technology and organ regrowth, yet hospital gowns STILL hadn't acquired a better design than the back-less white strip of cloth. 

"Just give me my clothes and turn around," Blaze said after waiting in vain for Silver to think of something to say. "I'll burn your tail off if you try to peek." 

Silver didn't need to be told twice. Desperate to think of anything but Blaze's exposed appearance, he informed her of everything that'd happened since she was incapacitated, up to and including Metal Sonic's mysterious disappearance. He was a little satisfied to hear an impressed grunt from his from his friend when he mentioned the historical details and his own theory of what Metal's ultimate objective might be. 

"That's some impressive thinking, Silver. But do you really think world domination is all Metal Sonic wants? Remember why Dr. Eggman created that robot in the first place." 

"To defeat Sonic, I know. But so what? He's a couple of centuries too late for that." 

"Don't be so naive, Silver. We have time travel technology in this day and age, remember? Even if Metal Sonic doesn't know about that yet, he's certainly going to find out about it soon enough." 

Silver gasped. "You mean, he's going to try to go back in time to kill Sonic the Hedgehog?" 

Blaze nodded, and then said "Yes" out loud, as she remembered that she'd barred Silver from looking her way on pain of flame. 

"We'll stop him before it comes to that!" Silver said with determination. 

"I hope so. But just in case, I think our first move should be to head to GUE headquarters to tell them to get Eggman Nega's time machine out of evidence storage and get it running. If things go wrong, we'd better be sure we've got a way of chasing Metal Sonic back in time." 

Why didn't I think of that? Silver asked himself. What would he have done if he didn't have Blaze around? No, no point in thinking about that now. What he should be worrying about is how history would've turned out if Sonic the Hedgehog hadn't been around. Earth could've faced total destruction at the hands of any number of evil god-like entities, alien overlords, or the catastrophic miscalculations of Dr. Eggman. 

"Would I even have been born?" 

"What did you say?" said Blaze, stepping in front of Silver, fully clothed. 

"Er, nothing. Let's go." 

- 

Shadow kept his arms crossed and his expression defiant. In a battle of wills, Shadow always came out on top, and Conquest the Bat was aware of that. 

"I'm not your agent, anymore," said Shadow. "I don't have to answer to GUN or to anyone else." 

"It's 'GUE' now, Shadow. Guardian Units of Earth. Look, at least let me send some troops to help defend the Ark." 

"Hmph! If what you say is true, then it's obvious that any combat engines you send against Metal Sonic will only end up making him more powerful." 

"I meant real flesh-and-blood soldiers. I know your...your powers have evolved since the last time you fought Metal Sonic, but you know you can't defeat him alone!" 

Shadow's stare made ice seem toasty. 

"Why the sudden interest in my safety," he asked. 

"Shadow, I'm not stupid," the GUE Commander insisted. "Did you really think you could round up all seven Chaos Emeralds and not leave some trace of yourself behind? Out of respect to you and faith in your abilities, I've kept the evidence of your actions under lock, but I can't ignore the threat that's been awakened now. If Metal Sonic takes the Ark and what's inside, then he'll be able to withstand everything the combined forces of GUE can throw at him. He'll be unstoppable. I'm not about to let that happen!" 

"Neither am I," said Shadow simply. 

"Just let me send a few shuttles to the Ark. It's a highly classified matter, but GUE has been training Angel Echidnas as elite assassins. Say the word, and I can send you a dozen soldiers, each one as strong and resilient as Knuckles the Echidna himself." 

Shadow sniffed. "Always with the cloak and dagger, Miss 'GUE Commander'," he said. "GUN or GUE, it makes no difference. This is my home, and I'll protect it my own way. Goodbye." 

"Shadow, wait!" 

It was too late. Shadow typed in a command on the console, ignoring the pleading look of Conquest the Bat on the display. 

"Master override, password: MARIA. Terminate all transmission channels." 

Shadow walked over to the plexiglass window. Whether it be GUE troops or an evil robot lookalike, no one would be allowed to trespass in this place. 

- 

It was quite a trek to the central headquarters of the global military. Silver and Blaze didn't dare send a direct message. With Metal Sonic in control of GUE technology, and proven fully capable of exploiting it, there was no way of knowing what the villain may or may not be monitoring. The robot could be watching thousands of channels at the same time, multi-tasking as only a machine can do. 

- 

Research station Prower 5. The jewel in the crown of the global corporation that practically ruled the galaxy in terms of business opportunities. The space station was as close as anything could come to being an embodiment of the proverbial cutting edge. Although the Ark was still the largest man-made object in orbit, the streamlined mile of the Prower 5 came close. 

The technician in charge of orbital monitoring on the space station was about to have the most exciting day of his life. It would also be his last. His epitath was as follows: 

"Sir, I'm reading an unidentified flying object approaching us from Earth at high velocity. No, sir, I can't tell. I'm retrieving scan data, but it comes out as a blank on all fields. I don't know, maybe there's a malfunction. It should read something, not nothing, and- It's speeding up! What's that? Oh god, it's heading right for us!" 

The blue dragon-like robot made a spectacular crash with the station.

_In the next chapter:  
- Eggman Nega does some exposition.  
- Metal begins his ultimate transformation.  
- The author scratches his head, trying to think up a good name for Metal's gargantuan form._


	9. The Ultimate Overlord

**Chapter 9: The Ultimate Overlord**

_2 hours before Metal Sonic's next stage of transformation..._

Dr. Eggman Nega was faced with a predicament. On the one hand, helping to defeat Metal Sonic would mean eliminating a powerful obstacle on the road to world domination, but on the other hand, Nega was loathe to fall into the habits of his ancestor, by constantly siding with the good guys whenever a new and greater threat arrived on the scene. 

The renegade scientist had been tracking Metal Sonic's movements ever since the robot was reactivated. GUE scanners might be helpless to locate an unregistered obsolete, but Nega had taken the time to gather a lot of data in the past when he built his own Metal Sonic copy to aid in his bid to turn the planet into a card, which he could control. From his hidden base in the desert east of Central City, Nega could locate Metal's signature signal no matter where the rogue tried to hide. 

Right now Eggman Nega was watching an ominuous blue blip on his viewscreen, moving inexporably towards the strip of lights surrounding the 2D representation of the planet. The Prower 5 carried some of the most sophisticated technology in existence, but Nega was certain that the oblivious crew wouldn't detect the danger until it was far too late to react. 

So what to do? Relate Metal Sonic's exact location to GUE headquarters, and hope they didn't trace the transmission back to his secret lair? Perhaps send an N-series robot to intercept Metal Sonic? Or maybe he should just ignore this whole mess and concentrate on completing the new and improved time portal to replace the time machine that those wretched GUE thieves stole. 

Nega made his choice. 

- 

_Now._

Violent shockwaves tore through the bulk of the science station, gradually demolishing it. The Metal Overlord clung to the outside of the vessel like a starfish from robot Hell. Miscellaneous equipment flew out of the cracks, along with the bodies of those crew members who'd perished in the explosive decompression. Metal's massive body was reforming as it collected material from the station. The robot giant focused on forming dozens of tentacle-like appendages to collect debris before it got thrown away by the momentum caused by the escaping oxygen. 

The process was so systematic that it was hard to make out where the chunks of material ceased being Prower 5 debris and started being part of Metal Sonic's growing body. 

At the halfway point of the transformation, the rays of the sun were eclipsed by the moon. Let the eye of the imagination turn towards the black sphere surrounded by the halo of the eclipsed sun. The resemblance is illusionary, because what is displayed is the eye of the behemoth. The pupil alone of the Ultimate Overlord would dwarf its original metal hedgehog form. 

Blue and silver metal were the colours of the collossus, surrounding a single black eye in the centre of the doomsday octopus. The tentacles of the transitional shape had been retained, and grown large enough to grab satellites out of orbit, and hold them in a crushing grip until they could be swallowed up by the central body. The transition from dragon-shape to giant squid might've seemed anti-climactic, but size mattered, and Metal Sonic was over a hundred times larger now. 

Still not satisfied, the Ultimate Overlord wasted no time activating its massive thrusters and setting course for the nearest orbital man-made object. Nothing less than the entirety of the artificial rings surrounding Earth would suffice for what the titanic villain had in mind... 

Metal Sonic was going to destroy the solar system. Once accomplished, he would repeat the action again, and again, and again, erasing each incarnation of the world through each second of time, carving his way backwards through time and space until he caught up again with the present he'd been torn away from. He knew it could be done. All the data he'd absorbed from the GUE archives and the Prower 5's science reports implied a definitive possibility. Time itself could be warped within an enclosed area of space. If it could be warped, then it could be destroyed. This pathetic future would be erased, and a new one written in its place according to Metal Sonic's own vision. 

He needed more power...far more... 

- 

Silver and Blaze were too late, again, when they arrived at the mountain headquarters of the Guardian Units of Earth. Silver for one was getting really sick of arriving moments to late to be able to do any good. As was now being shown on the news worldwide, Metal Sonic had transformed again, and the only good part of that was that he was now far too large to be able to hide anywhere. Actually, that really wasn't a good thing at all. 

The duo insisted on being allowed access to the government-regulated teleporters that ferried supplies between Earth and the orbiting stations, but their pleas landed on deaf ears. The general in charge of the Metal Sonic matter was only concerned with the possibility of teleporting fusion bombs in order to blow up the big blue parasite as soon as it tried to swallow up another station. The fact that there were people up there as well, not to mention what kind of damage to the planet the fallout would cause, didn't seem to matter. 

The situation seemed hopeless until suddenly the Commander herself stepped into the makeshift war-room. To the general's frustration, she went over his head and told Silver and Blaze that she would give them a chance to teleport up to a research station close enough Metal Sonic for them to be able to make it across on portable propulsion units. She only had one condition... 

"No matter what happens," said Conquest the Bat, "you must prevent Metal Sonic from reaching the Ark." 

Since they'd been given a gift horse, so to speak, the two heroes didn't question the terms. However, even that unsocial pair had caught on to the common knowledge of who the Ark's sole resident was. Actually, there were rumours going around that Shadow was dead, and that his death had been covered up so that no villainous masterminds would think it open season. Blaze, the more intelligent member of the team, guessed the truth correctly on the first try, but she didn't voice her thoughts and she wouldn't know for sure until a bit later... Silver's mind was currently focused on not looking at the bat's cleavage.

_In the next chapter:  
- Silver and Blaze attempt to get inside the Ultimate Overlord.  
- Prelude to the rematch between the hedgehog Metal Sonic and the pair.  
- Shadow continues to excercise very poor judgement._


	10. Showdown part one

**Chapter 10: Showdown (part 1/2)**

"Are you ready?" 

"I'm ready." 

"Then let's go!" 

Silver and Blaze sprinted to the edge of the open airlock and jumped into space. The artificial gravity lost hold of them both, but after ten seconds their propulsion packs took over, hurtling the hedgehog and the cat across the black void towards the doomsday starfish - the Ultimate Overlord. 

Scientists had over the past two centuries managed to work out how it was possible for animaloids to not only survive the freezing vaccum of space, but also breathe and communicate normally. The succesors of those scientists were hoping to find a way to communicate the explanation in lay man's terms sometime before the end of the millennia. The lie closest to the truth was that it was a loophole in the laws of physics. You wouldn't get a better answer until you wielded a PHD in quantum physics, and even then it was a real head-ache. Best not to think about it, really. 

At the moment space was a misnomer. Silver and Blaze had to dodge masses of floating debris to get close to their target, and although the chunks of metal had no weight, they had more than enough inertia to seriously hurt anyone foolish enough to get in the way. Silver used his psycho-kinesis to move any dangerous obstacles out of their path, even cutting some of the larger pieces in half by throwing sharp smaller chunks at them. Blaze's fire powers were nullified by the lack of oxygen, so she let her friend handle this one on his own while she stayed close behind him. It was a very rare for Blaze to have no criticism at all to offer, but she would later admit that Silver couldn't have done a better job of getting them a safe passage. 

The Ultimate Overlord was busy consuming an orbital platform. It had already noticably increased in mass since it finished absorbing the Prower 5. Two of the montrous tentacles were holding satellites snatched out of orbit, presumably planning to devour them once it was finished with the present task. 

"Where are we supposed to land on that thing?" Blaze asked when they were near enough for the sheer mountainous size of the parasite to all but overwhelm them. 

"Where else? The eye!" Silver said, pointing to the ocean of featureless black in the centre of the monster. 

Blaze couldn't see what Silver was getting at, but she didn't have any better ideas, so she followed him. 

- 

"What do you think, Omega?" 

The robot looked up from the schematics. 

"Restoration of Eclipse Cannon within time frame not possible. At present rate of movement, Metal Sonic will cross paths with the Ark in two hours and thirty-seven minutes." 

"I thought so. Then I'll have to destroy it myself. Come on, Omega, I'll need your help to deactivate each containment unit without setting off the security systems." 

Shadow had thought through a lot of different possibilities when he designed the prison for the Chaos Emeralds. If everything went wrong, and an intruder reached the Emeralds, then the final backup system would force a reaction from all seven Emeralds, causing them to dissolve into energy and subsequently reform in seven random locations throughout the world, as had always happened in the past when their power was fully released. If he and Omega rushed the process they were about to carry through, then they'd run the risk of losing the Emeralds throughout the terrain of Earth, where they could be found, collected and misused by just about anyone. 

Shadow's powers were a lot stronger today than when he fought alongside Sonic and his friends to defeat Metal Sonic in the past. Even though Metal had evolved to a considerably higher level this time, Shadow was certain that he'd be able to destroy the villain once he achieved Super Transformation. 

The black hedgehog had no idea how wrong he was. 

- 

Silver cautiously tested the black surface with his boot before touching down. 

"Gross!" he uttered with a grimace. "This stuff is sticky, like melted rubber." 

"Hmm..." went Blaze as she knelt down and felt the material with her hand. 

"Maybe if we try near the edge of the eye. We might be able to get inside- Whoa! What are you doing!?" 

For a moment Silver thought that his friend was sinking through the black material as if she were in quicksand, but he quickly caught on. Although she couldn't create fire out here, she was still able to raise the temperature of the black stuff by touching it. The extreme contrast between freezing cold and searing heat created a condition that was easy to break through. Less than a minute, and Blaze had melted a hole large enough for the two of them to fit through. 

Silver and Blaze dropped into what resembled a corridor from one of those cheesy old space horror movies. Apart from the fact that the walls and pipes were coloured blue and silver, they'd never have imagined that they were standing inside the body of the robot they'd been hunting since the fateful day it was awoken in a television studio in Central City. It had only been half a week since this all began, but it felt like months. The duo knew the final confrontation was near, and the ominous throbbing coming from every direction didn't help ease the tension at all. The corridor was at a tilt, so by unspoken agreement, Silver and Blaze went downwards. 

The run only lasted a little over fifteen minutes, but it felt like two hours. By the end of it, they emerged into a cavernous chamber with tunnels extending out in every direction. The wires and cables that ran through the corridors all met in the central ceilling of this huge room, connecting in a blood-red dome that stretched halfway down to the floor. Directly beneath the dome was a throne. Metal Sonic, as he'd appeared when Silver and Blaze fought him in the studio, sat on the throne with an air of infinite patience. 

Silver and Blaze approached their enemy. It was the villain himself who spoke first: 

"Silver the Hedgehog and Blaze the Cat," said Metal Sonic in the most accommodating tone that'd ever been heard from the robot. "Yes, I know who you are. I've learned a great many things from the online archives of the world. You've both associated yourselves with Sonic the Hedgehog, and have aided his continued survival against the foes he persists in throwing himself against. Even with all the knowledge at my disposal, I can't see how far into the future or the past Sonic the Hedgehog's influence extends, but you two carry an unquestionable taint." 

"Yeah, I met Sonic when Eggman Nega tried to mess with history," said Silver indignantly. "So what?" 

"Am I not clear enough? I was created to defeat Sonic the Hedgehog. No, not just defeat, to complete my purpose to the ultimate extent, I must erase every trace of Sonic the Hedgehog's existence. You two, in fact your entire timeline owes its being wholly to Sonic. Merely travelling back in time and killing Sonic could never be enough, for this reality would still continue within an alternate dimension. The only possibility is to rewind time, destroying every moment of history until the present of Sonic the Hedgehog is all there is, with no future yet written. From that point onwards, a new timeline will arise, one where Sonic never existed and never could have." 

"But then Earth would be destroyed," Blaze protested. "Dr. Eggman, Chaos, Shadow, any one of them would've ended the world if Sonic hadn't interveened." 

"Fear not," Metal Sonic responded. "The planet will still have a guardian. I will assume the role myself. Very soon I will become the ultimate power in the universe. No threat to Earth will ever rival my power." 

"And I suppose you'll rule the world, then?" said Silver. 

"Heh heh heh. Of course. It would only be fitting for the Ultimate Overlord to rule and control all inferior beings in the universe." 

"Dream on, Metal Sonic! We'll defeat you right here and now!" Silver declared. 

"That's right," said Blaze. "Your purpose ended a long time ago, and you should've ended along with it. This time we'll make sure you never have a chance to return." 

Metal Sonic rose from his throne. 

"So be it! This time, let me show you what I'M made of!"

_Next:  
- The rematch.  
-  
-_


	11. Showdown part two

**Chapter 11: Showdown (Part 2/2)**

The Guardian Units of Earth were busy scrambling everything space-worthy they could pull out in such a short time frame. Conquest the Bat had given strict orders to the field commanders that they were not allowed to engage the Metal Sonic ship until a sufficient force was gathered in the surrounding area. Trying to take down the enemy over a series of attacks would just result in the Ultimate Overlord growing stronger as it devoured the defeated ships. The only hope was an all-out offensive using all the combined firepower of the orbital defence fleet at once. Victory would be within reach if they could deal enough damage before the Overlord had time to assimilate more scrap in order to reinforce itself. 

But that was for the worst case scenario. Conquest still had some hope that Silver and Blaze would be able to destroy the core of the monster and save the day. There was also the vain hope that Shadow would come through for Earth as he'd done so many times in the past, but that hope was fading fast. 

- 

At the heart of the Ultimate Overlord, Silver and Blaze were locked in intense combat with Metal Sonic. Curiously, Metal wasn't using any copied abilities this time, but fighting solely with his own skills. Blaze, who could think and fight at the same time, unlike her partner, speculated that it was beause Metal Sonic had invested all of his copied data into the superstructure they were all standing within. Whatever the case, the robot was still a formidable adversary. 

Metal Sonic grabbed Blaze by her ponytail and pulled her off balance while at the same time kicking away Silver, who'd thought he could jump Metal from behind. Before Blaze could react, Metal Sonic twisted around and threw his fist into her stomach. With the wind knocked out of her, Metal prepared to deliver a finishing blow to the cat. Silver wasn't about to fail his friend a second time, though, so he used his psycho-kinetic energy to head-butt Metal Sonic with a teleport dash. Before Metal could recover, Silver used his power to tear the usurper's throne out of its base and throw it right at its owner. 

For once, Metal Sonic failed to dodge and recieved the full weight of his throne, knocking him back down again. After a second, he was back up and back on the offensive. 

Silver jumped straight up, wrapped in the glow that signified the active use of his psycho-kinetic powers. Although it was only temporary and drained a lot out of him, Silver could fly through the air with total control. Metal Sonic was forced to conform to the artificial gravity of his domain, which was why when Metal jumped after the white hedgehog, Silver managed to curve behind his enemy and grab him. Silver then spun in the air and forced both of them down to the ground. Even as they fell, Silver let his energy charge, so that when they hit, he'd release a massive shockwave of kinetic energy, enough to paralyze or destroy any foe. But right at the last second, Metal Sonic released a charge of his own, wrapping his body in shocking electricity. Silver was thrown off, and Metal landed on his feet. 

While Silver sat with every hair on his body charged with static electricity, Blaze ran past and aimed a burning hurricane kick at Metal Sonic. Metal spun around the attack, and, still glowing with electricity, tried to get a hold of Blaze. Instead, Blaze caught Metal's hands, but as her body was covered in fire, it was a stalemate of violent discharges. 

"You cannot hope to win," Metal Sonic taunted. "I was created for the sole purpose of defeating the most formidable champion this world has ever seen." 

"And you failed," Blaze pointed out, struggling harder. 

"In this deviated timeline, perhaps. Once the true path of history is restored, the world will know the truth. I am superior! I am the ultimate!" 

Metal Sonic hadn't noticed that his left arm was glowing teal around the shoulder. 

"Sorry, but that report gets an F," said Silver, standing behind Metal Sonic with his hand outstretched. The lines on his gloves were brighter than ever. 

"What?" 

"I'm gonna have to flunk you out of history class, buddy!" Silver yelled as put all his strength into the pull. 

Metal Sonic screamed with rage and surprise as his arm was torn out of its socket. Blaze seized the opportunity, and threw her burning fist into the exposed hole, frying the delicate circuitry within the metal armour. 

"This is im#os#ible! I c#n't los#!" Metal Sonic protested, his voice becoming distorted with static. 

"Back to where you belong!" Silver shouted triumphantly. 

With fire consuming the flammable interior, Metal Sonic was torn apart by the psycho-kinetic energy. Furiously, remembering all the pain Metal had caused him, Silver reduced the Sonic lookalike to scrap. Finally, he walked over to where the CPU was spilled out, and stepped on it hard. 

In the silence after the battle, Silver and Blaze breathed a sigh of relief. Metal Sonic was defeated. It was finally over. All they had to do now was find the central point of this big ship and put it out of commision. With no robot villain to worry about, it shouldn't be any trouble at all. 

They looked up at the blood-red dome situated above where the throne had been. It seemed the most promising place to look. 

"_Ha ha hah ha hah hah ha!_" 

Silver and Blaze looked behind them. It didn't make any difference. The laughter was coming from every direction at once. 

"_An excellent performance. I thank you both for providing me with such an entertaining distraction in the moments before I seal my victory._" 

"Me-Metal Sonic?" said Silver, unable to disguise his concern. "But we destroyed you!" 

"_Hahahahahaaaha ha! Come now. Did you really believe that destroying my avatar would make any difference at all? I am everything you see before you!!_" 

"I won't accept it! He must have a weakness!" said Blaze, not just to reassure Silver but herself as well. 

"You coward! Show yourself!" Silver shouted. 

"_Very well._" 

Metal Sonic stepped out of the nearest tunnel. He didn't say a word, but simply pointed at something on the other side of the cavernous chamber. Cautiously, Silver and Blaze turned to see a second Metal Sonic coming out of a different tunnel. With growing fear, they watched dozens of Metal Sonics step out of the shadows, all identical to the one they'd fought so hard to defeat. 

"_Now, finally you understand._" said all the Metal Sonics in perfect harmony. "_You cannot win. Even if the impossible should occur, and the Ultimate Overlord is undone, it will serve as nothing more than a minor setback. The body your scientists unearthed and repaired is still down there on Earth. It copied itself into me, and should I fall, then it will resume the grand task, and this entire chain of events will repeat. Needless to say, my successor will have learned from whatever mistake lead to my undoing._" 

Silver and Blaze stood back-to-back in the center of the chamber. There had to be over a hundred of the robots, and who knew how many more the Ultimate Overlord could create at a moment's notice. They were trapped. Even if they could run, where would they go? Destroying the core of the ship wouldn't do any good - every single piece of it would have to be vaporized to be sure, and even then, what about the original? GUE had been as sure as the heroic duo that the Ultimate Overlord was the transformed original, and had put every resource towards it - meanwhile, the original was still running loose down on Earth with no one in pursuit. For all they knew, it could be creating a second Ultimate Overlord right at this moment. 

The situation was hopeless. Completely hopeless... 

- 

The GUE fleet slowed as they neared the edge of the Safe Zone surrounding the Ultimate Overlord. Any closer and they'd be in range for it to capture and assimilate their ships. All the fleet needed now was the final go-ahead from the GUE Commander...

_In the next chapter:  
- A real old-fashioned spaceship fight with lasers.  
- Shadow the Hedgehog comes to the rescue.  
- The Metal Mastermind shows its face._


	12. Return Fire

**Chapter 12: Return Fire**

"It's showtime," said Conquest the Bat into her microphone. 

She had never been the type of leader to sit safely behind the lines and bark out orders. No, whenever duty called, Conquest the Bat was right out there, leading the attack, barking out orders up close. Normally GUE regulations of orbital combat prohibited officers from joining in the initial attack waves, but the threat of the Ultimate Overlord changed the rules of combat drastically. There was no way but to throw everything they had at the enemy from start to finish. Whether they faced victory or defeat, this was going to be a short battle. 

The purpose of the miniscule two-person X-winged starfighters was simply to draw the attention of the Ultimate Overlord's defences while the massive battleships prepared to launch their atomic missiles. From then on, it'd be a full-scale attack carrying on until the doomsday octopus was defeated or the GUE fleet's ammunition was depleted - whichever came first. 

(It should be noted that atomic weapons in the present age were far removed from the first weapons that carried the name. Radioactive fallout was no longer a threat, as the atomic explosion dissolved the molecules of the target within the blast area instead of setting off a nuclear explosion. The far more extreme danger was the effect atomics had on the atmosphere. Normally the weapons were only deployed in outer space combat far removed from any civilisation. It said a lot about the direness of the situation that Conquest had approved their use in this battle.) 

"Alright, Alpha one through Alpha six, follow my lead. Alpha seven though twelve, break off to the right. Spray the bulk of the enemy ship with lasers and try to draw as much firepower as you can. When the big guns fire, we've all got to get the hell away from the target, so watch for my signal!" 

The Ultimate Overlord hadn't slowed its approach to the Ark. It was as if Metal Sonic wasn't aware of the vast fleet closing in all around him, or simply didn't care. 

Overconfident dastard, thought Conquest. Let's see how you like this. 

The Commander's starfighter dodged the unresponsive tentacles and flew in close to the centre of the monstrosity. While flying over at high speed, she fired off a series of laser blasts aimed at the border of the Ultimate Overlord's massive eye. It seemed the most likely area for a weak point to be, but Conquest was still surprised to see in her rear-view display that she'd caused deep scars in the metal surface. Maybe this was going to be easier than she'd thought. The rest of the starfighters followed suit, punching visible holes in the exterior of the Ultimate Overlord, which still failed to make any attempt to defend itself. 

Conquest felt a lot more anxious about giving the order to unleash the atomics now than she wuld've been if the Ultimate Overlord had put up a tremendous fight that threatened to cripple the fleet. The gargantuan menace almost seemed to be planning something. 

You could cut the tension with a knife as the entire GUE fleet sat with its finger on the trigger, so to speak. Finally, Conquest sent the message: "Fire the big guns." 

From a safe distance, the GUE Commander watched as the missiles crossed the distance of empty space between the battleships and the Ultimate Overlord. They reached the last dying second before the missiles exploded against the hull... Conquest the Bat's eyes widened, as in that instant she saw with perfect clarity what was about to happen. 

"ABORT!!" 

It was too late. The entire titanic mass of the Ultimate Overlord flashed out of existence. The missiles passed through the now-empty section of space where the ship had been, and continued on towards the nearest target. A few of the battleship officers managed to react in time and press the self-destruct button for the atomic missiles. Those who didn't couldn't only watch in horror as the missiles they'd fired crashed into the battleships posted on the opposite side of the battlefield. 

The Ultimate Overlord rematerialised in the spot where it had been. This time it didn't stay immobile, but immediately moved towards the nearest surviving battleships, extending its tentacles. 

"Chaos Control," Conquest said to herself, feeling a fool. 

Even today it was popular belief that the distortion of time and space known as Chaos Control could only be accomplished with a Chaos Emerald. The truth was that the Emeralds had only one single power, and always had. They could transform thoughts into power, which essentially meant that they had the ability to amplify and realise any potential power or ability to indominable levels. Anyone with the knowledge and the ability could perform Chaos Control - the Emeralds merely made the task significantly less difficult. Metal Sonic had copied the ability two hundred years ago, and used it extensively when battling Sonic and his friends. Metal had never wielded a Chaos Emerald while using the power, nor had he ever needed one to do it. 

The GUE general who'd opposed Conquest's plan might've gained some small amount of self-satisfaction from knowing that her plan was a complete failure. He'd never have time to consider it, however, because in the instant that the Ultimate Overlord reappeared, Metal Sonic showed up in a flash of light on the bridge of the general's command ship - or rather, _a_ Metal Sonic appeared, shortly followed by a pair of identical twins. The general made the mistake of raising his pistol, and was amongst the first of the crew to be killed by the Metal duplicates. 

The same thing was happening in the bridges and control rooms of all the ships of the fleet. The Ultimate Overlord didn't need laser turrets or other defences. With an unbreakable link forced into the GUE computer systems, a destination could be plotted anywhere within the fleet, easily bypassing the issue of having prior knowledge of the destination when utilising Chaos Control to teleport. 

The army of Metal Sonic doppelgangers witnessed by Silver and Blaze had not been created merely to impress, but as the means of rendering the GUE fleet totally helpless. 

Only the GUE flagship managed to prevent the invaders from taking over. Conquest had ordered all of the Angel Echidnas in the service of the military to take up positions on the flagship, and with each one an equal to Knuckles the Echidna in terms of strength and resilience, they proved more than capable of crushing the Metal Sonics that Chaos Controlled onboard. Any hope of defeating the Ultimate Overlord seemed lost, but at least Conquest the Bat still had a command centre to return to. 

While the GUE Commander landed her starfighter onboard the flagship, the Ultimate Overlord began repairing the damage to itself by harvesting the hijacked GUE battleships, one by one. 

- 

Shadow gently removed the seventh Chaos Emerald from its container. 

"Finally," he said. "Metal Sonic wants these Emeralds' power, I'll deliver it to him myself." 

Standing on the edge of Gerald's replica of the Emerald Altar, Shadow the Hedgehog let the seven Chaos Emeralds rise up into the air around him. He had hoped that he'd already saved the world enough times for one lifetime, but fate demanded more, it seemed. 

Time to be the hero again. What a hassle... 

- 

"Commander! Commander!" 

Conquest's fur was sticky with sweat. She didn't trust the elevators during a time like this, and the stairs from the bay area to the bridge went on nearly forever. She hadn't even had time to change out of her flight uniform, which meant her wings were plastered down on her back, and chafed insanely. 

"What is it?" she said to the stiff officer, who was nearly as drenched with sweat as her. The guy probably hadn't seen much action in his career up till now. 

"We're being hailed! By the enemy ship!" 

"What!? Well, what are you waiting for. Put it through." 

The upper half of a robot appeared on the main screen. It was Metal Sonic, but an entirely different version of him. The head looked the most similiar to the original form, except with longer and sharper spikes. Gone was the jet engine torso, replaced with a grey titanium chest plate. The hands were more defined, with joints in the fingers instead of just being five spikes sticking out of a plate. What was most unnerving was that that was all there was to see. The limbs connecting the pieces were nothing more than violent arcs of blue energy, holding all of it together. 

"I am the collective consciousness of every robot created from the source code of Hedgehog Hunter Droid model 3, named Metal Sonic by its creator Dr. Ivo Robotnik. You can call me...Metal Mastermind. Know that I could've taken the Ark at any time I pleased, through the power of Chaos Control. I delayed my intentions only so that I could lure your forces to this place and use its resources to grow stronger before confronting the one being still able to pose a threat to me." 

"We played right into your hands," Conquest admitted. 

"Indeed. But you were not meant to survive this confrontation. I did not expect to encounter echidnas empowered by the Master Emerald onboard one of your vessels. If you had posted guards of their caliber throughout the fleet rather than just this one ship, you might have thwarted my plan. Congratulations are well in order." 

"Thanks," said the bat in a dry voice. 

"I have decided that for your achievement, I shall award you the honour of bearing witness when I conquer this world. I so love an audience." Metal Mastermind had no mouth, but from it voice it sounded like he was smiling. 

"How very kind. I look forward to watching your performance." _Almost as much as I look forward to watching Shadow smash you to bits, you arrogant buffoon._

"I promise you won't be disappointed. Goodbye for now." 

- 

A golden speck of light flew out of the Ark, and shot into the Ultimate Overlord...

_In the next chapter:  
- Burly Brawl, hedgehog-style. You know, from Matrix Reloaded? Neo versus a hundred Smiths? Coolest scene in the movie? Riiight. Yeah, the third one was pretty disappointing.  
- Silver and Blaze are pushed further away from the action.  
- After carefully reviewing the script, Silver reassures himself that he IS the main character._


	13. Shadow of Light

**Chapter 13: Shadow of Light**

Shadow's fur glowed a pale shade of gold, signifying a hedgehog brimming with cosmic power. The true origin of the Chaos Emeralds was a mystery that might never be solved. Who or what created the seven gems of ultimate power and placed them upon the chao altar in the Mystic Lands, where history for the first time recorded the existence of the Emeralds. Whether they had been crafted by gods, abandoned by alien visitors, or left as artifacts of an unknown ancient civilisation wielding unimaginable tools - no matter which party could claim true ownership of the Chaos Emeralds, Shadow knew in his heart that they belonged to him more than anyone else alive today. 

He had been born with the knowledge of how to channel the Chaos Emeralds' power and make it his own. Although Sonic the Hedgehog had proven a more naturally talented user of the Emeralds in his lifetime, Shadow had since surpassed his rival and unlocked hidden powers that not even his creator could have dreamed of... 

Super Shadow shot through the eye of the Ultimate Overlord and slowed to a full stop in less than a fraction of a second when he broke through into the central chamber. Standing in a shower of blood-red shards beneath the shattered dome, Shadow stared down his adversaries. 

The Metal Sonic duplicates that'd been busy keeping Silver and Blaze pinned down all immediatelly changed priorities. At the same time as the robots that'd stayed behind during the conquest of the GUE fleet closed in on Super Shadow, groups of additional Metal Sonics started appearing all around. With the crews of the battleships defeated, the Ultimate Overlord was free to call back its agents in order to converge on the superpowered hedgehog. 

Silver opened his mouth to say something, but what exactly would not be known, as Super Shadow stretched a hand towards the pair and watched as they were both enveloped in a light and vanished completely. 

There was no time for distractions. 

Certainly Shadow could use his Chaos Control powers to slow down time, but with his reflexes enhanced by the Emeralds, he didn't need to bother. The Metal Sonic that reached him first had jumped and was trying to land a flying kick in Shadow's face. The foot painted to resemble a red shoe moved like through mud. Almost lazily, Shadow grabbed the robot by the ankle and swung its body around like a bludgeon, batting half a dozen other robots out of the way. 

This was not the silly old action scene where the villain's interchangeable henchmen all ran at the hero one at a time and were promptly defeated. The Metal Sonics were coordinated, and cooperated as if they were all thinking with one mind. Twenty-five Metals attacked Shadow from various angles, each one reading the others' moves well enough to avoid getting in the way of their blows. Even so, the attempt to get a hit in was futile. Shadow was a golden blur of movement, seemingly performing several attacks all at the same time, as his movements melted together with the after-images. 

Shadow was being carried upwards as the mountain of defeated robots grew underneath him. Still, more and more Metal Sonics continued pouring out of the tunnels surrounding the grand chamber, while more still were brought back from their completed infiltration assingments. 

"Chaos Double!" Super Shadow shouted, unleashing a spectacular display of energy. 

The after-images of the hedgehog's movements acquired a mind of their own, and suddenly there was not one but three Super combatants fighting the army of Metal doppelgangers. The ability Shadow was using was Chaos Control, of a sort. He was cheating the flow of time to teleport between three distinct spots so fast that in essense there were three of him in the room at the same time. 

As persistent and as suicidal as lemmings, the robots kept throwing themselves as Shadow, no matter how quickly and effortlessly he destroyed their comrades. 

Finally, the three Shadows joined back togather, and jumped straight up from the top of the metallic mound, spun into a ball, and crashed down through the mountain of wrecked robots, until he found the floor underneath. Then he drew breath, and shouted "Chaos Blast!" The red explosion sent a wall of broken metal smashing into the ceaseless tide of robots, finally causing a break in the flow of attackers. 

Taking deep breaths, looking right and left, Super Shadow waited for what would come next. If just one of these robots was released into the vaccum of space, and happened to collide with a usable satellite, then the Ultimate Overlord would soon revive. Shadow wasn't about to start tearing up this ugly spaceship until he was sure there was nothing left alive inside, artificial or not. 

Just one. 

"Huh," went Shadow, as he watched the single Metal Sonic break away from the stationary throng and run towards its certain destruction. 

Shadow threw a punch, certain that he would tear through the robot as easily as wet tissue. The look of surprise on Shadow's face when the robot caught his fist and held it locked in an iron-tight grip was practically historical. That expression of grim callousness hadn't been interrupted in years. 

Super Shadow looked into black eyes surrounded by metal wrapped in orange glow. 

"_Super Form data...has been copied,_" said the surviving Metal Sonics in unison. 

One by one, a random selection of Metal Sonics started to glow with power like the first. As each one filled with the awesome power of super-charged potential, Shadow found himself the target of foes that were suddenly a match for him. Strangely, the superpowered Metal copies weren't trying to hurt Shadow, though that was well within their power now. They were merely trying to grab him and keep him pinned. Super Shadow was unable to prevent them from doing even that. 

Random pieces of scrap floated across the floor and changed shape in mid-air. Boots, gloves, a breast plate, and finally the imposing long-spiked helmet of Metal Sonic all covered an invisible shape standing apart from the brawl. Blue energy flowed between the pieces of armour, giving full form to the one calling himself Metal Mastermind. As a final touch, a strip of fabric tore away from the base where the throne had been and wrapped itself around the would-be ruler as a cape. 

Now it was clear. The arch-villain of the show wanted his chance to monologue. Shadow had been privy to this sort of thing so many times he could probably guess half of the guy's lines on the spot. With half a dozen Super Metal Sonics keeping him restrained, Shadow had little choice but to listen. 

"Shadow the Hedgehog, the eternal rival. I'm sure Sonic would be very impressed to see how far you've come. Such a pity. If only Professor Gerald Robotnik had thought to give his Ultimate Life Form a brain." 

"Say what you will," said Shadow. 

Metal Mastermind knelt down level with the subdued immortal. "I intend to do far more than just talk," he said. "At this very moment the seven Chaos Emeralds are absorbed into your body. You will voluntarily release their power so that they may regain their physical form." 

"What do you need them for? You obviously already have their power." 

"No, Shadow, I have but one means of using them. The power to enhance the abilities of my lesser selves is of little consequence to me. My goal is to use the Chaos Emeralds' power to carry myself and my kind back in time while simultaneously erasing the present world from existence. I will destroy the timeline created through Sonic the Hedgehog's actions." 

"Hah! Even with the Emeralds, that's way out of your league." 

"Don't misunderstand me," said Metal Mastermind pointedly. "I doubt I will be able to destroy more than this mere solar system, as I carve my path backwards through history. It is a restriction I am willing to accept. Now, give me the Chaos Emeralds." 

"Over my dead body." 

"I would prefer not. Killing you would release the Chaos Emeralds, but they would reform in unpredictable locations throughout the world. With GUE crippled and you dead, it will serve as little more than a delay, and I promise you that I will kill everything in my way until I get those Emeralds back. If there is an afterlife for lab experiments like you, then you can spend it knowing that millions of lives perished because of your misguided choice." 

Super Shadow paused. 

"What do you say?" Metal Mastermind. 

"The only thing I can. CHAOS CONTROL!!"

_In the next chapter:  
- We find out how Shadow got out of that fix.  
- Actually, we find out IF Shadow got out of that fix.  
- The world is pretty boned at this point._


	14. To Turn the Tides

**Chapter 14: To Turn the Tides**

Shadow had sent Silver and Blaze to the safest place he knew. 

"Where are we?" said Silver, prodding at the leather armchair position in front of the wall-length window into space. 

"Space Colony Ark," Blaze answered, already poking at the computer terminal with the peculiar square-within-square flat monitor. The ACCESS DENIED messages she kept bearing all had the Ark insignia as part of the layout. 

Maybe Shadow had wanted the pair to watch. This particular room gave an unsurpassed view of the Ultimate Overlord and the remains of the beaten GUE fleet. 

"You HAVE met Shadow before, haven't you?" Blaze said to Silver in a tone of voice that clearly suggested that she knew. 

"Yeah... He was there on Onyx Island along with Sonic and Knuckles. I was so worried I'd accidentally end up doing more damage to history than Nega. That's why I didn't say anything about encountering Shadow in my report. I didn't want to get the blame if something went wrong. Er, sorry about lying to you, Blaze." 

Blaze smiled wryly. "Did you know that your eyes twitch when you're lying." 

"What?" 

"Like a five-year old with a guilty conscience." 

"Oh." 

To wash away his embarrassment, Silver tried to shift the focus away. "I wonder how Shadow's doing down there," he said. 

"He's probably finishing off all those Metal Sonics right now," Blaze answered. "Must have been fun pretending not to know about them." 

"Huh?" 

"Sonic, Knuckles and Shadow." 

"Oh yeah. Er... Well, I tried my best." 

"Hopefully you didn't make too much eye contact at the time." 

"Aww..." 

Any notion of further idle conversation went away when suddenly the duo watched the Ultimate Overlord become encompassed in golden light, then vanish from space. 

"Wha-!?" 

"Shadow must have used Chaos Control," said Blaze. "I wonder where he sent it." 

Nowhere, as it turned out. The Ultimate Overlord reappeared in the very same spot it'd left, no worse for wear. 

"Well, that was pretty pointless," said Silver. 

"Maybe he didn't mean to do that. Remember how we saw all those robots get sent out to fight the GUE ships via Chaos Control?" 

"You mean Metal cancelled out Shadow's power? That's hard to believe. You saw him, he's used Super transformation. No one can beat Shadow now. Unless..." 

Silver didn't look so certain anymore. He was remembering something he'd read not too long ago. 

"Unless what?" 

"Oh no!" Silver exclaimed as he saw the last pieces fall into place. "Coming into space, eating up all those satellites, creating all those copies - it was all for one purpose. Those history geeks were right! Metal Sonic has been trying to copy Super form data all along. That was how Sonic beat him in the past, right? He's done all this just to make sure it wouldn't work this time!" 

"Oh my god. I think you're right, Silver. That means Shadow's walked into a trap." 

"We don't have much time. Shadow must have all seven Chaos Emeralds with him. If Metal gets a hold of those, we're done for!" 

"But what can we do?" 

It was a rare role reversal. Blaze at a loss while Silver carried himself with determination. This side of him only seemed to come out in the most dire of times. Only when things got so bad that there was no time to second guess or worry did Silver throw all his doubts aside and stand tall. 

"The Metal Sonic I saw in the past on Onyx Island was nothing like the one we're dealing with now. I'm certain now that Nega built a copy of the original to serve as his minion back then. If Nega knows the workings of Metal Sonic well enough to build a duplicate, then maybe he knows how to find a weakness. No matter how many or how big this robot villain gets, it's still the same robot at the heart of it. If there's a flaw in the original, then it'll be in the rest as well. We've got to find Eggman Nega and convince him to help us somehow." 

Momentarily awestruck, Blaze nodded. 

"When Dr. Eggman took control of the Ark two centuries ago, he used a teleporter to travel quickly between here and his pyramid fortress east of Central City. If the teleporter still works today, we can use it to get back to Earth fast." 

"Let's try it!" 

All doubt and hesitation gone, Silver and Blaze ran through the vast corridors of the Ark, searching fervently for the transporter station. At least Prof. Gerald had been thoughtful enough to place You Are Here maps at most junctions. The two made it nearly all the way before running into an unexpected adversary. 

The Artificial Chaos hovered before them, a robotic head atop a ball of gelatinous blue liquid. It paused only for a second before transferring its mass into violent tentacles and lashing out at Silver and Blaze. Still riding on adrenaline, Silver reacted fast and caught the tentacles with his psycho-kinesis. While the Artificial Chaos was restrained, Blaze shot through its semi-liquid body and smashed its head in with a flaming kick. 

Silver and Blaze nodded to each other, then started running again, jumping over the defeated imitation of the ancient chao god. 

They found the room containing the teleporter, only to discover that it hadn't been included in Shadow's scouring of the Ark. Why would Shadow bother with the place when he could use Chaos Control to go where he pleased? Two GUN beetles were floating by the teleporter, still standing guard after 250 years. If 50 years of decay wouldn't ruin the GUN sentries when Dr. Eggman and Sonic fought for control of the Ark, then 200 more years wouldn't make much difference. Immediately, both beetles discharged their guns, spraying hundreds of bullets at the hedgehog and the cat. 

Blaze looked at her friend, at the bullets hanging motionless in the air before his glowing hand, at the beetles, and then narrowed her eyes. She smashed the left beetle against the wall while Silver projected the bullets back into the right one, shooting it to bits. 

In the aftermath, Blaze looked the ancient teleportation device over. 

"Well," she said, "this will either get us to Dr. Eggman's old base or disperse our atoms and kill us instantly." 

"If we stick around here with the Ultimate Overlord, that's bound to happen anyway," said Silver. "Let's go." 

_((Author's note: Oh, it's well in character, believe me. Not to spoil anything from Sonic the Hedgehog (360-PS3), but at the end of the game, with the assembled Sonic cast, including two geniuses, who is it who comes up with the plan to save the day, turning a hopeless situation into a promising one? Why, it's Silver. It's also him who comes up with the plan to properly defeat Iblis at the end of his own story. When the poop hits the fan, Silver is a go-to guy.  
_

_  
Oh, and yes, he CAN catch bullets in the game. It's not just a blatant Neo rip-off. Actually, it might be, but blame the game designers))_

_In the next chapter:  
- Silver and Blaze face off against Eggman Nega.  
- Metal Mastermind demonstrates the true destructive power of his ship.  
- Conquest the Bat has another one of those "best-laid plans"._


	15. Eggman Nega Makes an Offer

**Chapter 15: Eggman Nega Makes an Offer**

Silver kicked through the rubble and was immediatelly shot at by a pair of security droids. It was unnerving to see the big fat bullets hovering so close to the hedgehog's neck. He hadn't seen that one coming, and nearly didn't react in time to freeze the shots. So much for the adrenaline rush. With an annoyed expression, Silver picked the two N-series bots out of the air and sent both crashing into the opposite wall. 

The room that Silver and Blaze had arrived in was some kind of computer terminal station. The area was abandoned, covered in sand and dust, and frankly it was a miracle that the teleporter still functioned. That is to say, it got them both there in one piece. There was that one awkward moment before Silver plucked the red jewel out of his forehead and handed it back to its rightful owner. On the whole, it could've been a lot worse. That funky indentation in Silver's fur should go away soon enough. 

With the arrival-point looking so run-down, it was a surprise to see fully restored corridors beyond. After that little encounter with Nega's minions, there was no question about it. Since his last lair was raided by GUE, Nega must have moved his operations to Dr. Eggman's old pyramid. Pretty clever, since the Echidna Preservation Society and the Recent History Archeological Society weren't likely to ever come out of that deadlock on which group should claim rights to the site. The latter claimed that since Dr. Eggman had desercrated the ruins while setting up his base, the site was their field. The former countered with the argument that in spite of Eggman's modifications, there was still more than enough intact ground for the area to fall under their juristiction. Meanwhile, the Independent Nation of Angel Island was adamant that all Echidna ruins should just be left alone indefinitely, though their voice was usually silenced after a hefty donation from the EPS. As said, no resolution was likely in this century. Probably not the next one either. 

Blaze stepped through the hole in the wall after Silver. The two ran down the corridor covered in Echidna hieroglyphics, and stopped when they came to a security camera. 

"Nega! We need to talk," said Blaze, stepping into view. 

"That's right. Your life depends on it as much as ours." 

There was no response, but after a short interval a Negapawn showed up and beckoned for the two to follow it. As much as Nega might despise his ancestor, he certainly followed suit when it came to robot designs. 

Eggman Nega's seat of control was on a pedestal. Typical of the guy. The command room seemed unprotected, but Blaze noticed the big red button in Nega's chair. The villain's hand was never too far from it, so it was an easy guess that once it was pressed, they'd find themselves in a far worse situation. 

"You want my help to defeat Metal Sonic," said Nega bluntly. It wasn't a question. 

"That's right," said Silver. "And, in return-" 

"In return you will recover the power cores from the time machine your GUE friends stole and deliver them to me." 

"What?" 

Nega snapped his fingers. It was obvious that he'd been expecting the pair and had rehearsed his lines beforehand. A side passage opened up, and out stepped Metal Sonic. One of them, anyway. Blaze tensed for battle, but Silver put a hand on her shoulder and shook his head. 

"You remember MY Metal Sonic, Silver?" said Nega. "I took the liberty of undoing the damage you and those other spiny-headed miscreants inflicted on it in the past." 

"You built it based on the original, didn't you?" Silver asked. 

"That's right. But unlike that idiot Ivo, I made sure my version has no capacity for betrayal. It merely mimicks intelligence. It has no self-awareness, no ultimate programmed objective it must complete, and no personal desires whatsoever. Oh, but that's not all. Just a single vocal command from me, and my Metal Sonic will purge all its data and reset to default settings. Imagine what would happen if that same feature was included in the rogue Metal Sonic." 

"Sounds like you've already got a plan," said Blaze. 

"Of course. I am the greatest genius of all time!" Nega boasted. "This Metal Sonic generates the same signature signal as the one you're after. All you have to do is get my Metal Sonic connected to the fold, and you'll be able to shut down every single one of them with a single command." 

"That's pretty good," said Silver. "It might actually work." 

"Of course it will! But since you two bungling idiots will be handling the delivery, there's always a chance you'll screw up everything. If this plan fails, then the world will certainly be conquered or destroyed or whatever it is Metal Sonic has in mind. That's why you two are going to go get my power cores back before I let you take my Metal Sonic anywhere. If...herhm, WHEN you two ruin my brilliant plan, I'll be free to escape back in time." 

"You'll go back to stop Metal Sonic?" Blaze asked suspiciously. 

"It would be my civic duty. AFTER I've conquered the world in the past, of course. Muahahahaa!!" 

Silver didn't attempt to hide his outrage. "What if we just kick your butt right here and take your robot whether you like it or not!?" he shouted. 

Nega yawned. "Then you'll just be wasting your time," he said. "Only I can reprogram my Metal Sonic to take orders from anyone but me. If anyone else tries to tamper with it, then the core processor will self-destruct, rendering it completely useless." 

"I don't think we have a choice, Silver," said Blaze. 

"Fine! We'll get your power cores, Eggman Nega. But when all this is over, you're gonna pay for this extortion!" 

"I'm sure. Since it's in both our best interests that you get to GUE HQ fast, I'll lend you both some hoverbikes. N-302 will show you the way." 

"I don't like this at all," said Silver after they'd left Nega's command room. "Even if everything works and we defeat Metal Sonic for good, Nega's just going to go back in time again and set up a whole new problem." 

"I know, but we have to take this chance," Blaze responded. "Seeking Nega's help was your idea, remember?" 

"I'm not so sure it was a good one anymore," said Silver, looking away. 

"Don't doubt yourself. You were right, this is the only chance we have. I just hope Nega is more concerned with getting rid of Metal Sonic than getting rid of us." 

"That's exactly what I'm worried about! What if he lied about what his copy can do? What if he just wants to get his time machine working, and sends us on a suicide mission to make sure we won't chase him back in time like we always do?" 

"If he's as intelligent as he claims to be, he should know that Metal Sonic will definitely try to go back in time to kill Sonic. The past won't be a safe place to hide for long." 

- 

Eggman Nega couldn't stifle his laughter after listening to Silver and Blaze's conversation via his surveilance system. Just a few levels below his seat stood the fully operational time portal in Nega's laboratory, power cores intact. 

Very soon, Nega would destroy Metal Sonic himself and at the same time be rid of those interfering rodents forever. 

- 

Conquest the Bat was worried sick. She'd seen Super Shadow board the Ultimate Overlord, but then nothing. No matter how much opposition he faced inside, he should be capable of neutralising the threat in a matter of minutes. It'd been half an hour now. 

For the first time, Conquest started to doubt the outcome of this conflict. No matter how bad things got, she'd always kept the secret hope that Shadow would save the world. With that hope lost, she wasn't sure what to do anymore. Was there even any point in trying? If they appeased Metal Mastermind, maybe he'd at least let them live. If any attempt to battle the hostile ship was suicide, then perhaps she should just pick the approach that left the crew of the flagship alive. 

No. They were soldiers. To give up without a fight and let that insane machine conquer everything would be an insult to everything GUE had fought for over the years. 

Steeling her resolve, Conquest left the bridge of the flagship to go meet with Sergeant Terkal, the leader of the Angel Echidna squadron. 

It wasn't over yet. 

- 

A wave of Metal Mastermind's hand, and a huge screen grew out of the empty air. The image showed Earth up close, then panned out to bring the Ultimate Overlord into view. The eye of the ship was pointed towards the planet. 

"The final destruction of the world will be quick and painless," said Metal Mastermind to the captive Super Shadow. "Without the seven Chaos Emeralds, the task will require a great deal of time spent in unrelenting suffering and chaos. Let me show you." 

The largest tentacles of the Ultimate Overlord bent forward towards the eye and formed a circle around the glowing pupil. Strands of energy flowed from the tip of each tentacle to the next, then converged at a spot above the pupil. 

"Let me assure you that what you are seeing is happening in real time, Shadow. The eye of my vessel is pointed towards an unpopulated desert. If you refuse to cooperate, then the next target will be a crowded metropolis. Watch." 

Shadow was seeing a sight from his nightmares. The beam of luminous death struck the planet, scorching the surface to such an extent that it was fully visible from space. 

"The Eclipse Cannon! How?" 

"Weren't you aware that the complete blueprints to the weapon are stored in the GUE archives?" Metal Mastermind asked. "All the data I needed was right there, at my disposal. However, it is not the weapon I intend to use when I destroy everything. That one is of my own divising, and will not be unveiled until I have the seven Chaos Emeralds. Don't fret, Shadow, I'll make sure you get the best seat for the show. It'll be a real blast." 

- 

"What's that noise?" Silver asked. 

Then the pyramid collapsed...

_In the next chapter:  
- Did Silver, Blaze and Nega survive the destruction of Eggman's pyramid by way of Eclipse Cannon fire? It wasn't a direct hit, so there's a lot of "maybe" involved.  
- Is Shadow going to hand over the Chaos Emeralds, or will a couple more locations have to be blown to smithereens first?  
- Can Conquest do anything at all?_


	16. Key to Salvation Key to Destruction

**Chapter 16: Key to Salvation - Key to Destruction**

Silver's psycho-kinesis once again saved the duo from likely death. He caught the falling section, and held it up long enough for Blaze to find a sufficiently stable chunk of rock to prop up the ceiling with. 

The pyramid had survived for thousands of years, since it was built by invading Echidna tribesmen as a symbol of their eternal rule. The Echidna empire was destroyed by an evil their leader unwittingly set upon the world, but ruins of the once-great civilisation that ruled everything remained all over the planet. Although best known for their arts of war, the Echidnas were astounding architects for their time. It was that fact that kept the pyramid erect following the blast from space. With the fundament crumbling, it wasn't going to stay erect for much longer... 

- 

Although his intention had merely been to impress his power upon Shadow, Metal Mastermind had now succeeded in creating pandemonium across the entire planet. 200 years ago just about anyone could film footage of whatever they liked with the use of their handy-dandy cell phone. Today, the wrist-watch would suffice. If you insisted on cutting edge, you could get a camera so small it was invisible implanted in your skin, but that was hardly convenient. The Eclipse Cannon blast that'd hit the desert was fully visible from Central City. In fact, anyone with an unobstructed view Eastward at the time of impact got their retinas fried by the impossible brightness of the explosion. Within a quarter of the hour, footage of the disaster was on all the news networks all over the planet. Very soon greater chaos would erupt throughout the metropolises, as fearful citizens would insist on evacuating their families. 

At the same time, news of GUE's failure to stop the Ultimate Overlord was getting back to Earth. It all went to show that no matter how sophisticated society became, it could all revert back to primitive standards in the face of an all-encompassing threat. In the city of Westopolis, which already carried a history of falling victim to bombardment from space, riots were breaking out on the streets. 

Conquest didn't have to listen to the reports from Earth to know that she wasn't going to have a job anymore when all this was over. It was her decisions that had led to the GUE fleet being destroyed and the Ultimate Overlord becoming a great deal more formidable than it'd been prior to her plans. 

Still, she'd made up her mind. The fact that the enemy wielded a replica of the Eclipse Cannon didn't change anything. 

"Bad odds. Even if that works, we're not likely to get back home alive," said Sergeant Terkal after listening to Conquest's suggestion. "Still, it beats sitting around here waiting. You can count on me and my boys, Commander." 

Terkal was a reddish-purple echidna. He'd had a pigmentation augmenation procedure when he was young, after doing some catching up on the history of his people. When he learned that that was the true colour of the ancient echidnas, then there was no stopping him. He even wrapped strips of white cloth around his individiual dreadlocks, just like the ancient custom. 

Terkal the Echidna had a lot of views that weren't popular with the with the current generation of echidnas living away from their ancestral home of Angel Island. They mainly centered around what "proper" and "true" echidnas should be like. He'd be a source of constant scandals if he ever went into politics, but in the military he was the perfect material. 

"Excellent. I'll let you take charge of this mission, but I'll be going with you out there," said Conquest. 

"Whoa! Ma'am, that's crazy. Er, with all due respect, I know we got the same grand-something-pappy, but you ain't in the right league when it comes down to fight. Ma'am" 

"You need a pilot to get there. I'm the best we've got right now. I order you to agree." Conquest didn't have time for arguing, and Terkal was loathe to disobey a direct order, no matter the circumstances. 

"Yes, ma'am. Er... Yes, ma'am." 

- 

Blaze gingerly lifted Eggman Nega's visor, and pried an eye open. 

"He's out cold." 

The renegade scientist had fallen through the floor, several levels down. After a quick climb, Silver and Blaze found him lying on top of a massive pile of rubble. Nega was lucky that he was so...well, fat, as a skinnier man would've broken nearly every bone in his body. 

"Try slapping him." 

Blaze was more than happy to. 

"Grargh!" Nega uttered, then groaned at length. "It's ruined! RUUUUINED!! This isn't how it was supposed to happen! Uaaaaa!!" 

And then Nega opened his eyes. It took him a moment to focus. Meanwhile Silver and Blaze shared the same expression, as they wondered if their old enemy had bumped his head a little too hard. 

"Who? Where am I!?" 

Somewhat awkwardly, Blaze put Nega's visor back on his head. With that, a little bit of sanity seemed to return to the man. 

"Are you alright?" Silver asked. 

"Grrrrr! No, I'm not! Look at that! LOOK AT IT!!" Nega was positively screeching. 

Silver looked at the pile of twisted metal. He didn't see anything special about it. 

"Was that something important?" Blaze asked. 

"It was my TIME PORTAL, you stupid cat!! It took me a year just to complete the prototype and now look at it! It's ruined!" 

"Tough break. Looks like you're stuck here just like the rest of us," said Silver. 

"Wait! You can still get me the time machine from the GUE headquarters!" Nega interrupted himself before the two had time to answer, with: "Nooo! That's no use! The power cores in that machine are duds. I snatched the real ones before GUE invaded my old base, and left a bunch of molecular destabiliser bombs in their place. They were supposed to go off when GUE tried to use my machine, but they never did, those overcareful morons!" 

Blaze raised her fist, which burned with a temperature equal to her rage. 

"Turn over your Metal Sonic to us now or I'll make sure you regret that you'll live to regret it," she said through clenched teeth. 

Defeated, Eggman Nega called for his servant. The head of the robot appeared at the edge of the hole in the ceiling, then it made the jump down to the bottom through a series of classic hedgehog summersaults. 

"After I give the command, Metal Sonic will obey the person whose voice it hears fist. Ahem. N-409 Metal: Reset loyalty protocol." 

"Er, maybe you should say something Blaze," said Silver, and then realised he'd said it. 

"Loyalty protocol reset. New master registration accepted," said Metal Sonic. 

"Whoops." 

"It's fine, Silver," said Blaze. 

- 

"Well, Shadow?" said Metal Mastermind. 

Super Shadow looked at his enemy with contempt. "To kill innocent people in order to get to me is your action, not mine. I can live with that, but not with turning over everyone on the planet by giving you the Chaos Emeralds." 

"Impressive. Sonic the Hedgehog would've given me what I wanted if even one single life was at stake. But you're not a hero, are you, Shadow? You're an "anti-hero" as they call it, aren't you? And anti-heroes don't have to conform to the rules of idiocy followed by the plain old heroes. Nevertheless, I believe you can be coerced, if only something personal was at stake. Someone close to you..." 

"All the people I cared about are dead," said Shadow. 

"We'll see."

_In the next chapter:  
- Silver and Blaze, yes still the focus of the plot, incredibly enough, return to the Ark with their secret weapon.  
- Conquest and the Angel Echidnas prepare to launch themselves at the Ultimate Overlord.  
- We're getting close to the Final Showdown for real this time. Or are we? Yes we are. Or are we? Yes. Or? __Definitely. Question mark?_


	17. To the Reunion

**Chapter 17: To the Reunion**

With a bit of effort, Blaze was able to pull her jewel free from the indentation in Metal Sonic's forehead. 

"Seriously," said Silver, "that's the weirdest glitch ever." 

It was a miracle that the teleporter had survived all the damage to the pyramid. It was such a great miracle...that it really wasn't the case at all. Precious time had been lost while Nega repaired the circuits and replaced the broken hardware. 

"What time is it, Metal Sonic?" said Silver to the robot after they'd gotten their bearings and confirmed that nothing else was mismatched. 

"Define timezone," the robot answered. 

"Er...Central City time?" 

"The time is 23:26:17...now." 

"That means we've been down there for about an hour. I hope Shadow is still holding up." 

The duo, now a trio, started a second race through the collosal space station, this time in search of a shuttle or something that could carry them across space to the Ultimate Overlord. Far as they could tell from looking at it through the windows of the Ark, the malevolent spaceship had changed its trajectory. Intead of continuing towards the Ark at a snail's pace, it was now pointing towards Earth, with the former United Federation continent in plain view. It was no mystery what had caused that sudden explosion down there. 

- 

The GUE Elite Troop Carrier was Conquest's choice of vessel for two reasons. The first was that it was large enough to carry the Angel Echidnas, the two dozen soldiers who volunteered for the mission, and the demolition agents who were going to put the finishing touches once the grunts had cleared a path. The second reason was that it was manouverable enough to get out of the danger zone in case the Ultimate Overlord decided to play a round of fly swatter. 

"You boys strapped in?" she asked over the communications line. 

"Nice and tight," Terkal's voice came back. 

"Then cross you fing- I mean, hope this works." 

Easiest way to insult an echidna was to make fun of its mittens. "Suicide" was the appropriate term for such an action. 

- 

"Great. Another obsolete piece of junk to risk our lives in," said Silver. 

This was the shuttle that Sonic, Tails, Amy and Knuckles had used to transport them onboard the Ark when they fought Dr. Eggman for control of the station 200 years ago. This was the shuttle that Sonic crashed after he and Knuckles fought for the controls. This was the shuttle that was knocked from wall to wall when the Ark plummeted towards Earth's atmosphere at lethal speeds. This was the shuttle that'd been left here to collect dust for two centuries after the heroes wisely decided to use Eggman's teleporter to return to Earth. 

"It's all we've got," said Blaze. "As long as it's still got working engines, it'll do." 

- 

Station Square had grown to become a grand city of millions, rivalling Central City in size and economy. Metal Mastermind made sure the screen zoomed in close, so Shadow could get a good look at the populace. 

"Look at all those vehicles, on the ground and in the air above. A multi-level traffic jam. Truly an example of human progress at it's best," said the evil villain. "Looks like that little demonstration in the desert really stirred things up down on Earth. How unfortunate that the people of Station Square won't have time to escape the deadly tidal wave crushing down on their fair city. Remember, Shadow? Oh, excuse me, that was before your time. Sonic the Hedgehog saved that city from a vengeful god embodied as a cataclysmic flood. I use the term 'saved' loosely, of course." 

As before, the screen shifted to a view from space. This time the eye of the Ultimate Overlord was pointed just off the coast of Station Square. 

"One chance to save all those people, Shadow. Give me the Chaos Emeralds." 

Shadow the Hedgehog said nothing. 

- 

Silver grabbed the arms of his cockpit chair so hard that the ancient polyester cracked up under his hands. "A-a-are you s-s-ure yo-o-u kno-ow what you'r-r-re do-o-o-oing?" he stuttered over the noisy vibrations of the shuttle. 

"Just...g-g-give me a s-s-sec-cond!" 

The shaking kept getting worse. Silver kept expecting the whole thing to tear apart of explode any second. At least they were moving. They'd cleared the airlock, after accidentally scraping the paint off the entire left side of the shuttle, and managed to manouvre the ship in the direction they wanted to go, despite an incredibly stubborn control system that refused to relent its efforts to steer them off course. Blaze wasn't about to reveal how many button presses were pure guesswork until they were safely back on Earth, preferably standing in a field somewhere far from civilisation and hazardous machinery. 

Blaze was getting exhausted from having to keep the wheel from being taken over by the mysterious and very strong forces of the disobedient machine. She eventually realised that there was no reason not to leave that matter up to the individual with near-infinite stamina. 

"S-silver, c-c-can you ask Metal S-s-sonic to keep the wheel pressed to the right like this for m-m-me?" 

"Er, s-s-sure. M-m-m-metal c-c-can you...DO what she just s-s-s-said?" 

"Yes, master," answered the robot, stepping forward from where it had been standing perfectly balanced against the violent pressure and vibration. 

It worked. For a moment, Metal Sonic actually got the ship straightened out, which in turn made the shaking lessen considerably. 

"Urgh..." went Silver. "Thank goodness I haven't eaten anything all day. Uaaah! Urgh! It's okay, I'm just dry-heaving... Buuarghh!" 

Blaze grimaced, but didn't say anything. She could taste that crappy hospital food in her throat right now, and therefore wasn't in any position to comment. Then she looked up, and saw a sight that filled her stomach with frozen lead. 

- 

Conquest watched the Ultimate Overlord charge up energy as it prepared to fire at Earth a second time. Even if she pushed the troop carrier to top speed right now, they'd never make it in time to stop that ship from firing. Because she was so wrapped up in the horror before her, Conquest didn't notice the second blip that suddenly appeared on her tactical screen, approaching the Ultimate Overlord from the opposite direction. 

- 

The beam struck the ocean, instantly evaporating tons of sea water and carving an unnatural trench of open air hundreds of miles down towards the ocean bottom, laid bare for just a fraction of a second before the water flowed back to fill the sudden void. As the hole filled, the level of sea water rose far above its normal level at that point, then flowed outwards in every direction, particularly towards the nearby coastline. 

The smart drivers, who were rich enough to afford hover-vehicles, immediatelly broke every traffic law known and pumped the accellerator straight up to get away. The smart drivers who had vehicle skills to match, managed that feat without crashing into a tall building or another flying car. The pedestrians and the people in plain old cars didn't stand a chance... When the sky scrapers started to topple over, the death tolls ran out of control. 

- 

"Okay, that's close enough. Now slow down so we can land," said Silver. 

"..." 

"Blaze?" 

"What do you think those red blinking lights there mean?" 

"Oh s-!"

_In the next chapter:  
- The Chaos Emeralds released.  
- Metal Mastermind triumphant.  
- Friends and enemies face-to-face._


	18. Metal Triumphant

**Chapter 18: Metal Triumphant**

The explosion was brief, lasting only long enough to deplete the oxygen released when the shuttle crashed into the Ultimate Overlord's tentacle. Although the impact barely left a dent in the metal, no one onboard could've survived that...which was why Silver and Blaze were glad they'd jumped out before it was too late. 

They were close enough now to make it the rest of the way using Silver's levitation powers. As Silver now learned, in a zero gravity environment, his levitation could carry him farther, faster, and with next to no drain on his endurance, as there was no force of gravity for his psychokinesis to overcome. With Blaze holding his right hand and Nega's Metal Sonic (or Nega Metal, as Silver had started calling the robot to discern it from the rest) holding his left, Silver flew faster than he'd ever thought possible, heading straight for the eye of the Ultimate Overlord. 

- 

Within the titanic robot-turned-spaceship, there was no way to tell that an ancient shuttle had just crashed into its hull, but Metal Mastermind, whose senses were tied to a thousand different bodies including the ship itself, felt it instantly. The gargantuan eye turned its attention away from scanning Earth for the next apt target, and focused on its immediate surroundings. The drifting debris of the shuttle were caught in sight and analyzed, the GUE flagship was confirmed to be staying put as instructed, and the tiny GUE ship flying directly towards it was spotted and focused upon. 

Metal Mastermind filled with glee. 

"Look, Shadow," he said. 

The floating monitor wasn't showing Earth anymore, but a small military spaceship. Feeling his blood grow cold, Super Shadow watched as the view was magnified until he could see through the plexiglass windows of the cockpit. 

"Conquest the Bat," said Metal Mastermind, once again demonstrating that vile intellect filled with data stolen from the GUE systems. "Even after so many generations, the family resemblance is without question. Does she have that remarkable strength of will Rouge showed when you fought by her side to defeat me in the past, Shadow? Does she have that spark that drives you wild? Ahahahahahaaa!!" 

Finally, Metal was seeing true desperation and hatred in Shadow's eyes, and he loved it. 

"I took more than just your Chaos Control from your mind when I absorbed your data, Shadow," Metal Mastermind continued. "You can't decieve me. Look at the screen, Shadow. My Eclipse Cannon is charging. Can you watch HER die, Shadow?" 

Burning with rage, Super Shadow pulled an arm free from the indominable grip of the Super empowered Metal Sonic copies. He was able to tear the head off one of the golden robots, but the remaining ones caught hold of him again, and pinned him to the floor. Even with all his strength, there were just too many of them to fight. 

"Disappointing. Your ability to watch millions of people die had earned my respect, but you're not as free from the burden of your conscience as you would have me believe, are you Shadow? No, you're still weak. Even knowing that I intend to destroy the world as you know it, you would rather let that happen than let someone you love die before your eyes again." 

That was a primal growl from the black hedgehog. 

"Give me the Chaos Emeralds, and she lives...for a little while longer." 

- 

It took Conquest a second to realise that she was still alive. She'd stared down the barrel of that thing, seen the green waves of death gather in front of the monstrous eye staring right at her, and had wondered to herself if an instantaneous death was really painless to the person experiencing it, or if that one fraction of a second stretched for hours as the death ray ate through every molecule of her body... Then suddenly the weapon had powered down. The tentacles retracted away from the pupil, which again seemed as distant and unreachable as a star. 

She had a feeling that something terrible had happened. Conquest's arms and legs came back to life, and she seized back control of the troop carrier. Before the Ultimate Overlord changed its mind again, she pushed the ship beyond its limits, accellerating to maximum speed. Doing this meant burning off too much fuel to guarantee a return trip, but right now Conquest didn't really believe that she or her men would be making it back alive, no matter the outcome. 

- 

The interior of the Ultimate Overlord was metal, cables and machinery, but the combination of it all seemed almost organic as Metal Mastermind called seven tall pedestals out of the floor, emerging like teeth out of naked gums. 

"Now," he said. "The Chaos Emeralds." 

One Super Metal Sonic was more than enough to hold Shadow now. The rest of them gently picked up each of the seven Chaos Emeralds lying on the floor where they'd been dropped. Ceremoniously, each of the Metal copies walked over to the pedestals and deposited the Emeralds into the fitting sockets atop each one. 

Seen from outside, the effect of the Emeralds' power being absorbed into the Ultimate Overlord was far more dramatic. The central hub remained as it was, but the tentacles grew and expanded, lashing out across hundreds of miles of space until each tentacle connected to the nearest artificial object lodged in orbit. From the point of each satellite, space station, solar panel array, and so on - new metal tentacles sprouted and extended outwards in new directions. The process was happening too fast to be rooted in real time. With time and space warping around it, the reach of the Ultimate Overlord extended to encompass the entire planet Earth, ensnaring the world in its malevolent metallic web. 

Silver and Blaze watched it all happen from the vantage point of the surface of the eye. It only made them more determined to put an end to all this insanity as quickly as possible. Metal Sonic couldn't be far from realising his twisted plans now. When they couldn't see the hole they'd used to get in through last time, Blaze got to work melting a new one. It was a lot harder this time, as the black material kept trying to reform over the slowly expanding hole. Nega Metal's brute strength and Silver's psychokinesis soon became necessary just to keep the opening from retracting long enough for the three to enter. 

"A large object is approaching this position. Suggest immediate relocation," said Nega Metal all of a sudden. 

The two animaloids looked up and saw more than enough reason to take Nega Metal's advice to heart. The three of them quickly slid down the hole, dropping into an empty corridor, and started running for their lives. Just late enough, the big military ship fired its main laser turret right at the spot of the shrinking hole, carving away a huge chunk of black material, but still not slowing down enough to come to a stop before it smashed right into it. That's exactly what happened. The size 10 troop carrier squeezed into the size 8 hole and wedged itself stuck inside. Without the semi-elastic black stuff, the impact would probably have killed everybody onboard. Silver and Blaze, lying just beyond the rubble thrown everywhere, could tell that whoever was flying was either a genius or a lunatic. Possibly both. 

A large door in the side of the crashed ship tried to open, got jammed, then punched off its locks and hinges by a fist charged with super-echidna strength. 

"Looks like we're just in time to crash the party," said Terkal the Echidna. 

The three dozen Metal Sonics rushing from both ends of the corridor towards the intruders would agree... 

- 

"What is the largest object you've ever moved with Chaos Control, Shadow?" Metal Mastermind asked, standing between the seven glowing Emeralds. 

"I returned the moon to its proper orbit when Jet-Black Doom tried to make it collide with the Earth," Shadow answered truthfully. Right now he was hoping he could stall his enemy, in whatever way possible. 

"Not bad for a synthetic hedgehog, but child's play compared to what you are about to witness. Behold, Shadow, I will encompass this entire solar system, from our place here in orbit over Earth to the reaches beyond Neptune. I will warp the fabric of time and space until it unravels and ceases to exist!" 

"But why? What is it you hope to achieve by destroying everything?" 

Metal Mastermind chuckled, then shook his head. 

"I believe I've already explained that part. Your loss if you weren't paying attention. Now without any ado, let's begin." 

"Wait!" 

Metal Mastermind might've stopped up a second time to point out that he wasn't going to fall for a stalling tactic. But, since he REALLY wasn't going to fall for a stalling tactic, he ignored the black hedgehog's objections and started channeling his thoughts through the seven Chaos Emeralds. 

- 

A long-forgotten satellite circling the planet Neptune suddenly found a fresh supply of information for its long-unused sensors. Ten seconds later it tore apart from the supernatural pressure suddenly forced upon it. 

The barren planets throughout the solar system began experiencing massive quakes, setting off violent eruptions on those planets that still retained some semblance of a molten core. 

On Earth, the fragile mammals were among the first to die in the billions. 

Purple arcs of light danced across space, with everything visible within starting to shimmer and fall out of focus. Only the Ultimate Overlord, encircling a planet that was tearing itself apart by the second, remained unaffected...

_In the next chapter:  
-  
-  
-_


	19. Final Flashback

**Chapter 19: Final Flashback**

Sonic the Hedgehog raced across the aerial walkways suspended over the burning ruins of Eggmanland. The road was collapsing behind him at an increasing rate, giving the hedgehog a chance to enjoy the thrilling experience of having to outrun a deadly drop into the far-reaching inferno. Anyone else would've been worried - Sonic was loving this. 

Smoke billowed from the damaged engine of the eggmobile, making it hard enough to keep the craft airborne, let alone steer it. Dr. Eggman could see the distant blur of speed getting closer. This time it didn't look like he was going to be able to make a last-minute escape as his plans for world domination fell apart all around him. And to think he'd come so close to finally achieving all of his goals. Eggmanland had finally been realised, GUN had been rendered helpless against his most formidable robot army ever created, and the leaders of the world had stood powerless to resist the might of the Eggman Empire! How...how could a victory so complete be turned to dust by one single hedgehog? 

Sonic reached the end of the road paved across the sky, and leapt over the edge. Controlling his descent, the hedgehog steered towards the erratically-flying hovercraft bouncing back and forth above a sea of molten metal. Driven by fearless confidence Sonic landed on the Eggmobile, his sudden weight throwing the vehicle way off course and causing it to fall towards a melting doom. 

"You insane hedgehog, what are you trying to do-aaaarghh!!" Dr. Eggman yelled as Sonic grabbed him by the collar and jumped, pulling the doctor along with him. 

Through cracked glasses, Eggman saw the glowing redness come closer, adding to the terror of free-falling from far too high up in the air. The hedgehog must truly have lost his mind, unless... 

"Woo-hoo!" Sonic shouted, as he aimed towards the broken tower lying diagonally in the molten metal. 

Sonic hit the very edge of a broken metal outcrop, breaking off a tiny board-shaped section at the edge, using it as a skateboard as he landed on top of the tower sinking slowly into the lava-like substance. Eggman screamed and covered his eyes, as he was dragged along for the ride, shooting way too fast down the length of the tower. Right when it seemed too late, Sonic forced the makeshift skateboard towards a piece of wall twisted outward, and launched them both into the air from the ramp. 

The hedgehog made a graceful landing on the cooling asphalt while Dr. Eggman hit the ground bottom-first with considerably less dignity. 

"Now that was some sweet action!" Sonic declared, punching the air and spinning around once on the spot. 

At the age of twenty-one, Sonic hadn't changed at all. The same could not be said for Dr. Ivo "Eggman" Robotnik... 

"You alright, doc?" Sonic asked, looking at the nerve-wrecked old man with the concern that a dear old rival deserved. 

"I'm getting too old for this," the weary Dr. Eggman declared. The streaks of grey dominating his once-red mustache were evidence of the fact. 

"Aw, don't say that, Eggman. I'll be happy to kick your butt next time you try to take over the world." 

"No...it's over. My utopia, my Eggmanland. I've tried so hard to create the perfect society. One where corrupt leaders could never condemn a genius working to make the world a better place. Logical, controlled, and safe..." 

"But without freedom," said Sonic. 

"No freedom to abuse..." Eggman sighed. "I should've seen it from the start. Everything I create strives to be free. If robots won't let themselves be controlled, then how could I ever expect people to submit? Even if you hadn't destroyed the reactor citadel, my robots would probably have rebelled against me sooner or later." 

"I can't believe what I'm hearing here. What happened to the never-give-up Eggy I know so well?" 

"He's stopped fooling himself," Dr. Eggman responded sadly. 

Sonic gave his lifelong adversary an odd look. "You sure this isn't just another one of your scams, doc? Sheesh. I'm not sure what I'd do without you around to liven up the party." 

"You can always die!" a metallic impresonation of Sonic's voice called out. 

Metal Sonic stepped out of the smoke, approaching with an air of vengeance. The blue of his paint was all but scratched off, the glass covering his eyes was covered in cracks, and sparks issued from his jet engine torso as he moved. 

"You're...STILL alive!?" Sonic burst out, sounding more disappointed than surprised. 

"Until your blood is on my claws, I will never be stopped!" Metal Sonic proclaimed. 

"We'll see about that! No more games, no more rematches, buddy. I'm gonna make you pay once and for all for what you did to Tails!" Sonic shouted. The happy-go-lucky attitude he expressed with Eggman was gone now. The evil twin had gained true enmity in the last 24 hours. 

"'Tails'? Shouldn't you be calling him 'Tail' now? Hahahahaa! Why not thank me for curing him of his twisted mutation?" 

That did it. Sonic jumped at Metal with the intent to destroy the robot once and for all. 

- 

Nega had programmed his Metal Sonic to protect its master above all else. Before Silver could stop his newly-acquired servant, Nega Metal threw itself into the fray. Like watching a game of cups played by a professional hustler, Silver lost track of which one of the Metal Sonics was the good one almost immediatelly. The echidnas were fighting the robots with incredible ferocity, already succeeding scrapping several of the robots. 

Silver and Blaze had no choice but to join in the fight, not just to save themselves but also to keep their one chance of shutting down all the Metal Sonics alive. Getting into the middle of it all was the best way, because the only certain way to tell which one was Nega Metal, was to look for the one robot that wasn't attacking the good guys. 

"Hey, isn't that the Commander?" Blaze shouted suddenly, pointing towards a white bat running down the corridor. 

"Where's she goi- NO NOT THAT ONE!!" 

Silver had to use his psycho-kinesis to push one of the Angel Echidnas out of the way before it punched the Metal Sonic that'd just attacked a different Metal Sonic a second ago. Before he could run to grab Nega Metal, another combatant got knocked into Silver, causing him to lose sight of his servant again. 

Trying to simply call to Nega Metal was futile, as the echidnas not only fought viciously but also very loudly, as if their vocal chords played a necessary part in the delivery of Fist A to Robot B. 

SMASH! 

Whether it was an echidna or a Metal Sonic copy that did it, Silver or Blaze would never know. They weren't even able to tell what had happened until several minutes after the fact, when it became disturbingly apparent that all of the robots left intact were focused on fighting the animaloids and the GUE soldiers. In the aftermath, when Sergeant Terkal ripped the head off the last Metal Sonic, it wasn't even possible to tell which of the wrecks had been Nega Metal. 

While the GUE forces ran past them, heading towards the central chamber, Silver and Blaze stood behind, looking at what was left of their shattered hope. 

"It...really was a good idea of yours. It probably would've worked," Blaze said to break the silence. 

"Now we'll never know..." 

Silver punched the wall angrily. "I don't care!" he yelled. "Even if we don't have Nega Metal anymore, I'm not giving up! We've come too far to quit now, so let's go after the others and show that villain that we're not going down without a fight!" 

"I agree," said Blaze, steeling her resolve. 

Before Metal Sonic gained all this power, back when Blaze was still in the hospital, Silver had decided that he'd fight Metal Sonic with everything he had even though he had little faith in his ability to defeat the robot. Since then absolutely nothing had changed. 

- 

Sonic and Metal chased each other through the crumbling robot factories of Eggmanland, dodging falling debris and leaping over conveyor belts that now ran into twisted death traps. 

Damaged as he was, Metal Sonic compensated by fighting dirty through every means possible. Followed by a hedgehog that was finally, and for the first time, willing to fight to the death, Metal threw obstacles into Sonic's path, destroyed fragile walkways as he went, and did everything in his power to throw Sonic into the flames and molten metal devouring everything around them. 

Both of them were so focused on defeating the other that neither one noticed the ominous sight visible through a break in the blood-red clouds above. 

A small distance away, standing on relatively safe ground, Dr. Eggman looked up to see a web of purple light blotting out the dawning sun. 

- 

Metal Mastermind let the image on the screen focus in until his past self and his ultimate prey both came into view, racing through the smouldering ruins of a destroyed technological paradise. 

"My destiny beckons," he said. "The deviant timeline has been erased. True history begins now!" 

- 

Sonic slid underneath the girder thrown by Metal Sonic and kicked upwards into the robot. As Sonic intended, Metal fell down to the main factory level and landed on the pressure pad of an hydralic press. Before the robot could react, the gigantic hammer slammed down on top of him... 

_The all-encompassing web of the Ultimate Overlord emitted a single pulse of energy._

Perhaps later Dr. Eggman would locate the remains of Metal Sonic and put them in safe storage inside his old shut-down base built atop the mesas of Rail Canyon. Perhaps the pieces would lie safe there until their rediscovery 200 years later. 

Wrapped in a glowing aura, Metal Sonic caught the hammer and easily lifted it off himself with enough pressure to cause the machinery to whine loudly then give out. 

Super Metal Sonic stood up, and glared at his wide-eyed enemy. 

"O...kay. Did not see that one coming," said Sonic.

_Next: The Final Chapter._


	20. To Protect The Future

**Final: To Protect the Future**

Conquest the Bat slowed down as she passed the archway and entered the central chamber of the Ultimate Overlord. That was the one who'd sent those taunts to the flagship, the one that called himself Metal Mastermind. He was floating in the air between seven metallic pedestals, each holding a black Emerald. 

"Fascinating properties," the Mastermind was saying to someone out of sight behind him. "Channeling the Emeralds' power with...ah...malevolent intentions seems to drain the very life out of them. A precaution installed by their creators, perhaps? No matter. The Chaos Emeralds have served their purpose. I have no intention of keeping them lying around for some champion of justice to barge in and recharge the Emeralds with pointless noble desires." 

The pedestals started to sink into the floor, taking the Emeralds with them. Realising that the one chance left might be going with them, Conquest pulled out her gun and fired at the nearest one. She managed to hit only one of the pedestals before it was too late, freeing the black Emerald and sending it tumbling across the floor. In the process, she also drew the full attention of Metal Mastermind. 

"Stowaways," he said. "How irritating." 

Metal Mastermind raised his gauntlet towards the bat, preparing to focus a fraction of the violent electrostatic energy that formed his body towards her in a deadly beam. The attempt was interrupted when Shadow threw himself at the charged robot, only to get stunned by the intense field surrounding it. 

"Shadow!" Conquest shouted with obvious concern. 

Metal Mastermind, holding the black hedgehog by his furry chest, brought Shadow's face close to the two red points of light that penetrated his helmet. 

"Why haven't I killed you yet?" Metal asked rhetorically. 

- 

Sonic crashed through the fragile concrete wall, and rolled instinctively. It was an instinct that saved his life, because Super Metal Sonic was relentless, firing a bolt of energy through the hole in the wall and torching the spot where Sonic would've been lying if he'd stayed put. 

Blood from minor cuts, soot and dirt from the ruins he was beaten through, and toxic smoke clinging to everything - Sonic barely had a spot of blue left on his body. He'd never fought an enemy that was truly faster than him before. Luck and determination were all that kept Sonic alive. 

Super Metal broke through the rest of the concrete wall. Sonic had no choice but to keep running. 

- 

Metal Mastermind tossed Shadow aside like a rag doll. The part of Conquest's mind that stayed detached from this whole nightmare came to realise something: Metal Sonic was a sick and twisted reimagining of the person Sonic the Hedgehog, but he was still bound by the traits that defined the heroic hedgehog. Sonic always chose a challenge over an easy win; he always gave Eggman time to escape into his next robotic monstrosity instead of running ahead of the bouncing scientist and taking him down. Metal Sonic was the same. Whether he was aware of it or not, the robot twin had no choice but to allow his enemies an opportunity, however small, to fight back and win. To cheat against that rule would be deny everything that made him the happy monster he was. 

All that data absorbed into him; Metal had to be some kind of super-genius by this point, able to foresee a million different scenarios and plan ahead for each one. There was no way they could've penetrated the Ultimate Overlord without him being fully aware and able to destroy them if he chose every step of the way. 

There had to be a risk to the Mastermind's grand plan. There had to be some chance, no matter how infinitely small, that he could fail. Metal didn't dare to violate that principle just yet, and that was why he threw Shadow across the room to where Conquest stood, instead of simply killing the hedgehog, which he could so easily have done. 

Conquest held the unconscious Shadow in her arms, while Metal Mastermind continued to gloat. Even with the knowledge that one last hope still remained, somewhere, Conquest couldn't find it. She saw the black Emerald lying on the floor nearby. She reached out and grabbed it. Now what? How did you repower a Chaos Emerald? What was that noise? 

The sound of so many running feet across metal floors was unmistakable. The cavalry had arrived. 

"I'll take that," said Silver the Hedgehog. 

Around him, the Angel Echidnas and the other surviving members of the GUE squad marched into the central chamber, taking up positions. Silver held the black Emerald over his head and closed his eyes in concentration. Blaze's face lit up as she watched the Chaos Emerald regain a healthy blue glow. 

"How did you do that?" she said. 

"I just believed that I could," Silver answered simply. "Now let's finish this!" 

Metal Mastermind laughed. The reason why became immediatelly apparent, as hundreds of Metal Sonic copies poured out of every passageway as before. Even the darkness of the corridor that the heroes had entered through became lit up with glowing red eyes. 

"Finally, something worthy of a challenge," Terkal the Echidna announced, signalling to his men. 

"Blaze, you stay here and protect Shadow and the Commander," said Silver. 

Blaze had never heard him use such a commanding tone before. Her first instinct was to object, but seeing the look in Silver's eyes, all she could do was nod. 

With GUE soldiers locked in combat with the interchangeable robots all around, Silver ran into the centre of the chamber, facing down Metal Mastermind. 

"You truly believe you have a chance against me?" Metal Mastermind asked. 

"No, I don't," Silver answered. "But that doesn't matter." 

"Hahahahahaa! You are truly a fool. Very well, I will give you the death you desire!" 

Silver gripped the Emerald tighter, feeling his pscho-kinetic powers grow. Wrapped in the distinctive aura, Silver levitated high up over the battlefield. Metal Mastermind flew up to join him. The two clashed. 

- 

Sonic staggered to the edge of the outcrop. The river of molten metal flowed beneath this crumbling ruin, which was sinking rapidly. He couldn't see anywhere to jump to, and even if he did, he wasn't sure he had the strength left. 

Super Metal Sonic landed opposite the beaten hero. 

"I don't know where this wonderful gift came from," Metal said as he strode forward, "but I intend to use it to its fullest. How many of your dear friends can I hunt down and kill before this power runs out, I wonder? Only one way to find out! Ahahahaaaahhaaa!!" 

"You...dastard!" Sonic muttered. 

- 

Silver tore large chunks of material out of the ceiling with his power and threw them at Metal Mastermind, who effortlessly dodged them all. Metal countered by unleashing a powerful electrical surge aimed directly at the white hedgehog. Only by channeling all the power he had was he able to shield himself from the worst of it, but the sheer force was still enough to propel Silver into the wall, knocking the air out of him. 

Silver fell a few feet, but managed to steady himself in the air again. Growling, Silver reached down and grabbed several Metal Sonics off the floor and hurled the robots one by one at their master. 

Blaze and Conquest both watched the climactic battle with awestruck eyes, only breaking away when a Metal Sonic copy came too close and needed to be crushed. Shadow remained unresponsive throughout it all. 

Silver launched himself up into the ceiling, unleashing a powerful psycho-kinetic shockwave towards Metal Mastermind. For a moment, the shockwave seemed to interrupt the villain's electrostatic composition, but Metal quickly recovered and extended the reach of his arm by twice his full length, grabbing Silver's leg. With Metal Mastermind closing in, Silver struggled to focus his power just to withstand the shocking energy surrounding him. 

"This ends here," said Metal Mastermind. "Any last words, Silver the Hedgehog?" 

Silver gave the robot a cheeky grin. Just then the resemblance shone through the many generations, and Metal found himself looking into the face of his eternal nemesis. 

"N-409 Metal: Purge all data and shut down." 

"What?" For the first time, Metal Mastermind sounded uncertain. 

Terkal had managed to grab a Metal Sonic and was about to pummel it to bits, when the robot's red irises suddenly blinked out and the whole thing hung limply in his grip. 

Blaze and Conquest looked around to see the doppelgangers shutting down one by one, falling down and lying as still as theatre puppets with their strings cut. 

"This is impossible! I can't- NO! NOOOO!!!" 

Metal Mastermind's final scream echoed on for long after the electrostatic flow faded and the villain's emptied armour fell to to floor in a pile. 

Silver levitated down to the floor, and then finally breathed out a tremendous sigh of relief. 

"W-what just happened? How did he do that?" Conquest asked. 

Silver smiled. "Why don't you explain it, Blaze?" he suggested. 

But Blaze was as confused as the bat. "Explain? But...Nega Metal was destroyed." 

"You mean you didn't figure out?" Silver asked, sounding surprised. "Where do you think all the material to build those Metal Sonics came from? It wasn't like they could just create fresh metal and circuitry out of thin air, so everything handy had to be used. Half of the satellites the Ultimate Overlord gobbled up at first probably ended up being used just for robots. Seeing as we saw that many Metal Sonic copies come out of the same corridor we entered through, I figured that Nega Metal got recycled along with the rest of the bots we destroyed when we arrived. Assimilate and absorb data, that's all Metal Sonic has been doing since he was turned on. If the process was automatic by this point, then all of Nega Metal's programming would be swallowed up just the same. 

"To be honest," Silver added, "I wasn't sure it would work." 

"All this is givin' me a headache," said Terkal. "So what happens now?" 

- 

The golden glow faded from Metal Sonic's body. All the wear and tear of the recent battles reemerged, and the robot's confident stride turned into a stumble. 

"No..." Metal Sonic uttered, looking at his hand. 

Sonic gritted his teeth and managed to muster enough strength to stand up. 

"Lo- Ugh! Looks like you just ran outta juice, Metal," he taunted. 

Metal Sonic lunged at the hedgehog, who stepped smartly aside and elbowed Metal in the back of his head, causing the robot to fall forward over the edge. Sonic turned around to see Metal Sonic writhing around in the red-lit molten metal. The robot floated on the surface for a few seconds, then sank underneath. Its outstretched hand was visible for a moment before its joints melted and drifted away. 

Sonic shivered as a very strange feeling washed over him. In a daze, he watched the wounds inflicted by Super Metal fade away, while at the same time all his strength returned. 

The hedgehog looked up at the sky as he felt the sunlight on his back. Some kind of strange purple-ish web was barely visible. Whatever it was, it seemed to be breaking up... 

Sonic the Hedgehog shrugged. With a single bound, the hedgehog made it across the burning river to safety. From there he started running, accellerating until he was a blue blur shooting across the horizon. 

- 

"I've got another one!" one of the echidnas burrowing into the floor yelled, before tossing a red Emerald out of the hole. 

"That makes seven," said Shadow, making a half-hearted attempt to shrug out of Conquest's grip. 

The sight of the famous anti-hero blushing like he had when he woke up and the GUE Commander hugged him tight was something Silver was never going to forget. It somehow destroyed the badarse image of the Ultimate Life-Form, and made him seem more like a real person instead of an enigmatic loner wrapped up in old legends. 

The vibrations grew louder as the Ultimate Overlord broke apart and ceased to exist. Holes showing empty space kept appearing and disappearing all around the massive room where the champions were gathered. 

"Silver, do you know how to use Chaos Control?" Shadow asked. 

"Er..." 

"Take those four Emeralds and learn fast. I'll take the other three. Chaos Control wielded by two different people in close proximity creates a warp hole through time and space. With all seven Chaos Emeralds, we should be able to create a hole large enough to bring everyone back to the future." 

"Alright..." said Silver, holding the Emeralds gingerly. 

The GUE soldiers were all looking at him with admiration now, worst of all Blaze as well, which made Silver feel incredibly uncomfortable, knowing that any mistake he made would meet the disappointment of so many people. 

"CHAOS CONTROL! -OL!" the two hedgehogs shouted, slightly out of synch. 

- 

The last remnants of the Ultimate Overlord faded away... 

- 

It was now a full week since it all began... 

"Are you sure it doesn't bother you?" Blaze asked, pulling the bowl of chili peppers closer. 

Silver leaned back in his couch, smiling happily. "Nope," he said. 

Saturday night. No jobs available. Where else would they be? 

"It doesn't bother you one bit that no one in the world knows that you defeated one of the greatest evils of all time and saved history?" Blaze insisted. "It really doesn't bother you that the GUE Commander has labeled the whole thing classified, so we're not allowed to tell anyone about it either?" 

"Blaze, seriously. It really doesn't bother me." 

Was she kidding? This was the best reward he could've hoped for. The thought of the entire populace labelling him a hero and putting him all over the media would be a nightmare. To Silver, those few minutes onboard the Ultimate Overlord before they all returned to the present had been bad enough. 

"Well, I still think it's unfair." 

Eager to change the subject, Silver asked "What do you think is going to happen now that Shadow is coming back to work for GUE?" 

- 

"What do you mean I can't see the Commander? This is urgent, man!" 

Terkal grinned in the face of the steaming general. 

"If it's so dang important, handle it yerself, big shot," he responded. "The Commander is very busy 'interviewing' new staff. You ain't gettin' past me 'til she's good and ready, so why don't you pipe down, huh?" 

Oh yes. This promotion to the GUE Commander's personal secretary was going to be a lot of fun. Terkal still had his other duties to attend to with the extended Angel Echidna squad, plus he now got the priceless privilige of pushing these high-ranking wind-bags around as he pleased. 

Life was good. 

-

**The End.**


End file.
